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DO OR DIE
A tribute performance for Ukshin Hoti
On 18 May 2025, at 20.00, the play, “Bëje ose vdis”, (Do or Die), was performed by Theatre Company Hadi Shehu, directed by Blerta Neziraj, to mark the International Day of the Museum, at the “Prison of the Ideal” Museum.
About the play:
“Do or Die” is a tribute performance dedicated to Ukshin Hoti, the renowned Albanian politician, intellectual, and professor, and political prisoner in Yugoslav and Serbian jails. He was imprisoned multiple times, first in 1981 and lastly, in 1994. Officially, he remains one of the more than 1,500 people missing from the war, whose remains have never been found. Today, Ukshin Hoti has become a symbol who embodies the tragic fate of the tens of thousands of Albanian political prisoners who were tortured and killed in Yugoslav and Serbian prisons. He also stands as an emblem of the struggle, dedication, sacrifice, and political commitment to the freedom, equality, and dignity of the Albanian people, and of those tens of thousands of men and women who were activists in the underground Albanian movement in Kosovo. Resistance, endurance, and the heavy price paid in prison by this generation of idealists, with all its complexities, is the foundation of the Republic of Kosovo, but also an inspiration for generations now growing up, without fear that someone might imprison them simply for being Albanian.
“The documentary drama ‘Do or Die’ is based on the writings of Ukshin Hoti, as well as archived documents and materials concerning his political and social activism. A key source for writing the play was the account shared by Bajrush Xhemajli, a former political prisoner, about the time he spent in prison with Ukshin Hoti. Interviews were also conducted with Pal Shtufi, Bajram Gashi, Lumnije Azemi-Morina, Bajrush Xhemajli, Basri Musmurati, Salihe Salihu, and Halil (Sulejman) Selimi, with excerpts from these interviews incorporated into the performance. Others who contributed to the creation of this drama include the writer Azem Deliu, who conducted the interviews, and actor Bajrush Mjaku, who was, in fact, the primary driving force behind the writing of this play, and to whom I extend my gratitude.” (Jeton Neziraj, author of the drama).
Author: Jeton Neziraj
Director: Blerta Neziraj
Actors: Jahja Shehu, Ernest Malazogu, Edi Kastrati, Armend Smajli, Albulena Kryeziu Bokshi, Altina Kusari
Choreographer: Gjergj Prevazi
Composer: Trimor Dhomi
Stage design: Petrit Bakalli, Alice Vanini
Costume: Ilirjana Loxha Basha




