A duo drama that will begin its life on June 8, 2023, at the Museum of Science and Technology in Skander-begova Street 51, and the first replay will be on June 13
PUPIN – THE LAST DREAM, represents one possible stage vision of Pupin, the imaginary meeting of mother Pijada and son Mihajlo. The mother listens, comforts, soothes with folk songs, and psalms, and puts her son to sleep. Mihajlo Pupin, in his old age, remembers his life and achievements – as a boy, as a scientist, as a patriot, as an immigrant, as a participant and witness of important historical events…
Mihajlo Pupin, one of the world’s most outstanding scientists, glorified, defended, and helped Serbia. Pupin lived in distraction, but he helped his motherland all his life, he helped Serbia during the Balkan wars, during and after the Great War. Thanks to Pupin and his friendship with American President Woodrow Wilson, in 1918, a foreign flag was flown in Washington for the first time – the Serbian flag. Pupin helped educate many children, participated in the Paris Peace Conference and made a huge contribution to its work, and, again, for the benefit of Serbia. He came from Idvor, and through Pančevo and Prague, reached America, studied at Columbia University, trained in England and Scotland, received his doctorate in Berlin, and returned to Columbia – as a professor.
He never missed an opportunity to mention where he came from and to find ways to help Serbia and spread its glory. He founded several funds in order to send and organize aid to Serbia. He was friends with the world’s most important scientists and American statesmen, but he always thought of the words of his mother, a deeply believing, religious woman who understood the importance of learning and science. She is one of the few mothers who pushed her son away from her, into the world, to reach a higher and greater goal – knowledge and progress. Even in his later years, when he had difficulty walking, he said he had to stand up when he mentioned his mother.
For this stage play about the relationship between mother and son, the relationship to knowledge and learning, language, science, dispersion, foreigners, immigration, patriotism, nation, and identity, were used texts from Pupin’s autobiography, for which the scientist was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, Serbian folk literature collected by Vuk St. Karadžić, New Testament, proverbs… During the performance, mobile phones will also be used in the live broadcast, allowing the audience to follow the performance itself, from other viewpoints. In this way, new media, and communication through them, symbolize the achievements in telecommunications for which Pupin gave some of the most important patents.
