Seven Characters In The Bone Bridge, By Trina Davies
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The Bone Bridge, by Trina Davies, is centered around the lives of seven characters as they go through the trials and tribulations of the aftermath of the Bosnian War. The Bosnian War took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the late 1990’s, stemming from the breakup of Yugoslavia (“Bosnian Genocide”). During the Bosnian War, the Army of the Republika Srpska executed a genocide of non-Serbs residing in areas dominated by Bosnian Serbs (Toal and Dahlman 6). The conflicts dominating this play are ones of the past vs. present and good vs. evil. Each character plays a different role within these conflicts ranging from victims to bystanders to leaders. The Bone Bridge illustrates how a person in power cannot put anything into a population that…show more content… In the production, directed by David Richman, this courtroom scene was very powerful. Mevla sat in the front of the stage with a spotlight on her as she told her story directly to the audience (Richman and Beagan). Dragan, Branka’s husband, worked with Muslim women that had been victims of the war, and he too decided to testify to give a voice to those that could not, or would not, go against the Leader. He did this knowing that his choice would end his marriage, but he believed something had to be done and justice needed to be served.
In The Bone Bridge, each character goes through a different journey and experiences when trying to reconstruct and move forward with their lives after the Bosnian War. Mevla, a former judge, was ripped from her house, never to see her family again, and was tortured and raped while in the concentration camps. When she returned, her apartment was being occupied by Ankica, her former secretary. Ankica, who is full Serbian, took over Mevla’s apartment because she felt it “suited her” and she did not think Mevla “would be coming back” (Davies 10). With Mevla’s return, Ankica confided in her friend Branka, who had a strong admiration for the Leader, saying she feared that she would become homeless. Characters like Ankica and Branka were not victims of this genocide, but instead felt that their lives had improved because of it. Once the war ended, Ankica was kicked out of “her” apartment and Branka’s marriage ended.