IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD - A Tribute to Juraj Semivan
'If, after this evening, someone leaves and thinks more quietly, feels more deeply, or lives more courageously, then the word has not ended. But it goes on…'
IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD— AMemorial Evening Dedicated to ThDr. Juraj Semivan
spoken word – authentic recordings – live piano – movement – projection
This evening is not conceived as a memorial event in the traditional sense. It is neither a solemn ceremony nor a linear recounting of the life and work of Juraj Semivan. Rather, it stems from the question of whether the word—once spoken, experienced, and passed on—can continue to exist as a living presence. Not as an archive, but as an experience. Not as the past, but as something that is still happening.
The title “In the Beginning Was the Word” therefore functions not merely as a quotation or a reference to a book (In the Beginning Was the Word—Selected Speeches by ThDr. Juraj Semivan, PhD) but as a dramaturgical principle. Here, the word is not understood as information, but as an event—as something that has the power to enter a person, shape them, and leave a mark. This evening seeks to capture precisely this quality of the word: its weight, its silence, and its echo.
The concept is based on the conviction that the authentic word does not disappear. It changes its form—from voice to memory, from memory to inner movement, from inner movement to action. It is precisely this transition that lies at the heart of the entire evening. It is not, therefore, a reconstruction, but rather a transformation. It is a search for a way in which the word can pass through space, the body, and time. And thus an experience is created that transforms.
Friday, August 7, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 8, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.
Concept, Script, and Direction: Matej Marušin
Musical collaboration: Marián Čekovský
Choreography: Vladimír Marušin
Cast: Juraj Semivan, Alessandra Marušinová, Sergej Jegorov
Acknowledgments: We thank the family of ThDr. Juraj Semivan for their trust and for making authentic materials available to us.
We thank everyone who shared their memories and helped preserve his legacy.