pulling the trigger is a solo performance at the intersection of dance and physical theatre that explores the moral conflict and humanity of those caught in war. Performed by Marko Šakić, the work questions the personal and universal cost of war by focusing on those we often dehumanize — soldiers.

The project does not aim to justify or victimise the soldier, nor to romanticise the act of war. It seeks to confront its complexity — the fear, numbness, obedience, responsibility, choice, and irreversible consequences that shape the human psyche in the face of violence.

I grew up in Russian culture, where war is deeply tied to national identity, heroism, and intergenerational trauma. This project is a way for me to question those narratives — to look at what it truly means to “pull the trigger,” both literally and metaphorically, and whether we can ever understand the choices of those who do. It does not try to judge or to make a political statement in defence of one country or the offence of another. Instead, it asks what remains of a person when they are asked to cross the line.

At its core, pulling the trigger is about empathy in places where we usually look away — an invitation to sit with discomfort and to face what we are used to labeling as right or wrong. In a world increasingly fractured by conflict, where divisions between nations, communities, and even individuals grow deeper, this work feels deeply urgent to me.