Ruzhdi Pulaha, one of the most prolific Albanian Playwright and Screenwriter!

Ruzhdi Pulaha
Prolific Albanian playwright and screenwriter!

Born on June 21, 1942. Pulaha`s plays and comedies have been staged not only in the National Theatre, but also in Korça and other theaters in the country. After finishing his studies in language and literature at the University of Tirana, Pulaha worked for about ten years at Albanian Radio Television.

In 1975, he was appointed a teacher in Pogradec. After four years, Pulaha returned to Tirana, this time as an author at the National Theatre, a function he held until 1986, when he became a freelance artist. In the 70s and 80s, Pulaha was one of the most prolific authors at the Popular Theater, but also at “A. Z Cajupi” in Korce.

In his creativity as a dramatist, plays such as: “Tomorrow is too late” stand out; “Teacher of Literature”; “Stairs”; “Under the lights of the stage”; “The house with two gates”; “Patient Doctor”; “The shadow of the other” etc. where a call is made for spiritual reformation, for courageous and socially useful moral attitudes, against the corrupt and bureaucratic manifestations of the administration, criticism which sometimes affects even the high ranks of the state.

After the drama “Sons of Bato Gora” which deals with the conflict “within us” as well as the corrupting action of the “class enemy”, he managed to create a brilliant comedy such as “Lady from the City” which was staged for first time in the Korce Theater in 1974 and a year after immediately in the Popular Theater (1975).

Ollga, the main character, is the creation of Ruzhdi Pulaha and remains today an artistic creature with great values for the mentality she expresses and her popular physiognomy.

In 1979, he creates the “return” in Ollge’s finished road in the ongoing comedy “A comrades from the Country”, now not only a happy solution to living in the village with her daughter Meli, but also in a typical model of social realism with the cleaning and filtering of every flaw.

With the drama “Maro Mokra” Pulaha brought another type of drama, the epic-heroic one often encountered in the dramaturgy of Socialist Realism.

The creation of the figure of Mara as a woman with a pistol in her belt who becomes the master of her fate and her family by opposing the possessive greed, slyness and hostility of Demir Bey, remains one of the outstanding values of the drama, as well as the compromising of nature, of this figure with the second pistol hidden under the vest (xhamadan) that he hands to the “Party guys”.

Pulaha also wrote other openly political dramas such as “Furrnalta” (1979); “Communists” (1981). The merit of the author of these creations is his controversial spirit, the tendency to affirm sound moral values by appealing for honesty and civic courage, so Ruzhdi Pulaha can be considered the most courageous playwright before the 90s, the criticism of which affected the high spheres (albeit somewhat camouflaged) of political corruption.

These trends in social-realist dramas were also seen in dramas after the 90s where political freedom was guaranteed by law, such as in the drama “Denunciation” (crime, corruption in the courts, the will and honesty to condemn them), the comedy “Crazy time” (ridiculing the speculations on pluralism and the creation of all kinds of parties for profit effects), “Time without a name” (the clash between two times at the beginning of the 90s, political confusion, the need for national reconciliation), “Shelter of the forgotten” (dissolving human values from the misunderstandings of free society, appeal for love, understanding, reconciliation, need for respect and attention to the third age).

In addition to dramaturgy, he also wrote several scripts for feature films such as “Lady from the City” (1976); “My Wedding Toast” (1979); “A comrades from the village” (1980); “Like all the others” (1981); “Small Encirclement” (1986), a film that won the Cup of the 7th Albanian Film Festival.

“People and fate” (2002), the television series of 20 episodes, which brought dramatic and shocking images from the chaotic, violent and problematic reality of Albania during the transition years. “It was time for love” (2003) as well as “Letra fatale”.

In 1992-1996, he was elected deputy of the People’s Assembly, where he headed the parliamentary committee on culture.
In 1999, he was the editor-in-chief of the joint program of the BBC and “Radio Tirana” for the radio novel “Rruga me pisha”.

First published on Facebook in June 2016 and revised in subsequent years.
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Albanian Cinematography in activity since 2013.
Reference: “Encyclopedia. Albanian Theater & Cinematography” p. 366-368 / Toena, Tirana 2009.