A press conference was held today in the premises of JU Grad Theater on the occasion of the premiere of the play "Protection", based on the work of the same name by Branislav Nušić, adapted and directed by Milan Nešković. The play is a production of the "City Theater" Budva with the National Theater from Sombor.
The chief editor of the festival program, Svetlana Ivanović, emphasized at the very beginning that "Protection" is the 82nd production of the City Theater, but also that it is the first time that Nušić is working at the festival.
The director of JU Grad Theater, Milena Lubarda Marojević, thanked the National Theater of Sombor.
"First of all, to director Bojana Kovačević and artistic director Saša Trolaković, for the fact that the tradition of cooperation between the City Theater and the National Theater of Sombor has been continued in a wonderful way, it continues through productions and programs, but also through the way it all works, which We rarely meet in co-productions and theaters. Their business, household and creative relationship is something that should always be emphasized and for which we should always thank the director, Milan Nešković, because we both wanted to collaborate again The way Milan works, creatively and efficiently, is a way where the director's vanity is in the background and where there is a willingness to openly discuss creative and organizational topics with the co-producers. This is something that deserves to be expressed publicly like this." said Lubarda Marojević, who thanked the brotherhood of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Stanjevići for their hospitality over the years.
"Working in that space has a special quality and brings some special opportunities that are not material and that can hardly be expressed in numbers and letters, but which can be seen in the projects that are created there and that the audience there likes to watch," she pointed out.
The director of the Sombor National Theatre, Bojana Kovačević, emphasized that she is extremely glad that they are doing a co-production with Grada Teatr for the second year in a row.
"I think it's a relationship of mutual respect and gratitude. Milan is a director who has already worked on four plays for us, he worked on two at Gradu Teatr, and we both know him very well, and I think this was a winning combination. Hardly I'm waiting for the audience to see this play," Kovačević said.
The artistic director of the National Theater from Sombor and actor in the play, Saša Torlaković, recalled that he has been a guest at the Grad Teatar festival for thirty years.
"I know this festival well and the people who make it up, and it's really always pleasant to be at it, especially as an actor in a co-production. We had a very limited deadline, organizationally, acting and directing, it was quite demanding to present a piece like this, having regard for Nušić as a great "That's why I can't wait to meet the audience because it's very important to get feedback on how these characters and Nušić's sentences affect the audience today," he said.
.Director Milan Nešković pointed out that he has a great love for the Sombor National Theater and the Grad Teatar festival.
"It's my favorite theater, and this is my favorite festival, so this collaboration is quite natural. Speaking of that short term, I have a catchphrase that says that a problem only gives birth to a new and better solution. Especially in the case of comedy, because humor is not something which perhaps you shouldn't think too much about. Either it exists or it doesn't, if it doesn't exist, it can't be created by a series of rehearsals. This is one of Nušić's first pieces in prison where he was forbidden to write. Then he secretly wrote a letter addressing him as 'dear uncle' to the then minister of police of the Kingdom of Serbia. The warden who read that letter told him that there was no need to write to his uncle, so they allowed him to writes his own works", said Nešković and added that this play is based on two families, although the title leads us to a current and contemporary story about corrupt authorities.
"One is a family of newcomers to Belgrade, and the other is a minister's family. The key is the relationship between them and how the fate and characters of all people when these two families are intertwined, leads to different comic situations. Nušić is one of the greatest writers because he is the greatest connoisseur and an analyst of Serbian character and mentality. The fact that he was born 160 years ago is a blink of an eye. Nobody has changed much in those 160 years, that's why good writers can survive, but they have to be interpreted in a different way. Especially when it's about comedy, because humor lives in the moment. What was funny about Shakespeare 160 years ago isn't funny today. Even what was funny ten years ago isn't funny today to speak is already politically incorrect. Humor has to change and be careful nowadays, so we decided to make this play a cabaret type, but completely modernized. We remained faithful to Nušić, but also to some of the issues which we wanted to deal with. I am convinced that this play will have a very good response from the audience because we managed to create a warm story about wonderful people with all their mental and character flaws," concluded Nešković.
Actress Ana Rudakijević pointed out that she was a guest at the Grad Teatar festival twice.
"The first time in 2019 with my class and graduation play 'Three Winters', which was performed right in front of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Stanjevići, and last year with Milan's play 'The Seagull'. Now it's third time lucky, and I say that because this is my first co-production in career and a wonderful experience. I would like to do more things like this in the future because I have met wonderful young colleagues from Montenegro and I hope that we will cooperate in the future. I feel like I am here for the tenth time, a really wonderful experience and I am very grateful," she said.
Actor Stevan Vuković said that he feels the greatest human and professional gratitude towards all collaborators.
"Primarily because they gave me the opportunity to be a part of this co-production, I've been trying for years to be a part of the City of Theater and it finally worked out. For the first time, I understand how important it is to connect and collaborate as young actors, to see how things are done in It is a great pleasure for me that this is my third reading of the famous writer. I did not feel that the skill of the director and producers was at an exceptional level. They were very skillful all conditions are provided for the most beautiful creative creation, which I hope the audience will see and feel. I think that as a cast we approached this material with a lot of energy and we all entered with a lot of will. We can't wait for the audience to see and measure what we are done and at what level we are, and I believe that our journey is just beginning and that the next season will show that we have done the right thing, which will be useful for understanding both Nušić and comedy," he said.
The Budva premiere is scheduled for August 3, in the amphitheater of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Stanjevići, starting at 21 p.m., and repeat performances are on the festival program on August 4, 5 and 6, starting at 21 p.m.
Bonus video:
