Sawa: Inspiration just comes before the deadline

Znaju Biltenci i na engleskom :)

Could you tell us where you get the inspiration for your stories?

It's mixed Japanese and European. For example, "Sjeme" is very japanese but "Umbrella" is Czech. When people ask me where I get my inspiration from, I don't know. It just comes before the deadline. You have to make a puppet in one week and then it just comes.

How did a Japanese man fare in Prague?

It was very difficult in the beginning, 23 years ago. After the revolution in The Czech Republic, the country changed, a lot. Now Prague is really a European city. It's easier now, but it took 20 years for it to become easy.

What is the theatre's role in children's education?

Frankly speaking, I don't think about the philosophy or messages when making plays. They always come naturally from the inside, without planning. But I want to surprise the audience and make them enjoy the show. My goal is to make them come to my performances again when I return.

On stage we heard your Croatian and it's really good. How did you learn it?

Well, actually, I learned it in 10 minutes. The girls wrote the text for me and I memorised it.

So this is your first time in Croatia. What do you think of it?

I'm just commuting in a car, from hotel to hotel. I only know the people, like Antonija and Lucija. They're good. So I like the people.

Your show is different from others because it doesn't put emphasis on dialogues. Why is that so?

I'd like to visit as many countries as possible. When you have a long text, translating or dubbing it is a problem. So I try to make shows without dialogues.

Is there a message you'd like to send to the children on this festival?

Come back to the festival! Enjoy the theatre and the plays!

Điđi Delalić (17) i Josip Mrđen (18)