The Roma theater, which bears the name of the late Roma playwright, Nexhip Menekshe, was founded in 1989. For two years now, its performances have been held at the Lumbardhi cinema in Prizren, since the Xhemajli Berisha House of Culture, where the theater usually operates, is still under renovation.

The play “Funny Money,” written by Ray Cooney and directed by Deniz Dadale, premiered on April 7. The comedy is a story of the adventures of Henry Perkins, a character who experiences unexpected events after he finds a bag full of money in a strange situation on the subway.

The play was performed again on April 8, International Roma Day.

Sejnur Veshall, artistic director of the theater, nostalgically remembered the beginnings of his activism in the Roma theater in the first grade. That was when “my activism for our community’s issues also began,” he said.

K2.0 visited the rehearsals for “Funny Money” and spent time with the theater and show team. Everyone involved did more than just the job of an actor or actress. None of them was an actor by profession. They were actors, but also producers. Actors, but also scenographers, translators and photographers. Above all, they were activists.

The theater’s working spaces are integrated into the studio of the only Roma radio station, Radio Romano-Avazo. The same space is also home to the Roma Library. Despite being small, this library preserves important summaries about Roma history and culture. It also contains the Roma Theater Monograph, published in 2019, on the 30th anniversary of the theater’s founding.

“In addition to the desire, it became an obligation,” said Veshall, about the work that the Nexhip Menekshe Roma Theater does to preserve Roma language and culture.