Join the Reading Circle on (Non)Motherhood

Dear all,

We invite you to join a (reading) circle that we initiated with director Rajna Racz as part of the research for our new documentary theatre production Mothers, which explores a woman's decision about motherhood.

The circle will meet online via Zoom over the coming months, with the first session, themed Autotextuality and (Non)Motherhood, taking place on 18 February at 16:30 CET. The discussion will be moderated by Maša Grdešić, who will also give an introductory lecture. Recommended reading for this session includes Sheila Heti’s Motherhood and McKenzie Wark’s article Critical (Auto) Theory.

Following an introduction to theoretical questions related to autobiographical writing (including autotheory, autofiction, and autotextuality), we will examine how autotextual rhetorical strategies are used in Sheila Heti’s Motherhood (OceanMore, 2021, translated by Maja Šoljan). The discussion will address key themes such as decision-making around (non)motherhood, the meaning of “choice,” gender roles, and the relationship between (non)motherhood and art.

Maša Grdešić is an assistant professor in the Department of Comparative Literature at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. She earned her PhD in 2010 with a dissertation on Croatian women's magazines and is the author of numerous works at the intersection of narrative theory, cultural studies, and feminist theory. She was also one of the founders and editors of the Muf online platform (2014–2018).

Mothers, co-created by Kolektiv Igralke and Rajna Racz, will have the world premiere in July 2025 as part of 25th season of Ulysses Theatre. The co-producers of the performance are UO Kuća Nahero from Zagreb and Zavod Maska from Ljubljana. The artistic research is co-financed by the City of Zagreb, while the work of Igralke and Kuća Nahero is supported by the Kultura Nova Foundation.

A link to the session will be sent upon registration via email at igralke.kolektiv [AT] gmail.com.

Registrations are now closed! Thank you all for your overwhelming interest. <3