In Tobelia, choreographer Rosana Hribar and co-creators Urša Rupnik and Maša Kagao Knez draw inspiration from the ancient custom of tobelias—women in highly patriarchal Balkan societies who assumed the roles of men after their departure or death. Their point of departure is the experience of “life without a man”, a condition that resonates across both past and present.
This story of loss could take place anywhere today. It unfolds as an urban tragedy about three women from two generations, bound together by the death of a loved one: a son (Vida – Rosana Hribar), a brother (Ana – Urša Rupnik), and a husband (Bojana – Maša Kagao Knez). In the aftermath of his death, they are destined to live not only with one another, but also with the enduring presence of the absent man, with whom each shared an intimate bond.
Tobelia is built around timeless themes of belonging and longing, while also exploring entrapment, hopelessness, passion and anger, mourning and desire, contempt, fate, and the endless return to the past. The man is dead. What remains are the graves and a lingering sense of loss, neglect and bitterness, fuelled above all by fear—fear of everything that challenges deeply rooted beliefs.
Tobelia reflects a world in which values and ideals are shifting rapidly, while questions of women’s emancipation become increasingly urgent. It addresses both the fragility of rights already won and the changing identity of the absent man. Tobelia becomes a mirror of fractured human identities and a powerful image of the enduring legacy of patriarchy.