Performance "Marathon runners run the circle of honor" Dusan Kovačević, adapted and directed Olje Djordjevic, which was performed by the Croatian National Theater from Osijek the night before last on the stage between the churches in Budva, attracted a lot of attention from the audience and caused enthusiasm for its witty and sharp approach to the classic work of Serbian dramatic literature.
The audience of the drama program of the 38th Grad Teatar festival filled all the seats on the stage between the churches and reacted with a lot of laughter and applause, confirming that this classic text is still relevant and close to the modern audience.
In her adaptation, the director remained faithful to the original, but managed to introduce freshness through contemporary elements of direction and acting, while Kovačević's text, which explores the absurdities of everyday life in the Balkans, corruption, family relations and transition, gained a new dimension.
The ensemble of the Croatian National Theater from Osijek excelled in character performance, bringing to the stage a mixture of grotesque, satire and drama that is characteristic of Kovačević's works.
Actor Aljoša Čepl, who portrayed the character of Mirko Topalović, after the play stated that the original idea of the entire team was to distance themselves from the famous film.
"We wanted to distance ourselves in order to avoid comparisons with the audience. I hope that at some point the audience started to see us as ourselves, and not as those famous Serbian actors who created a cult film that everyone knows and quotes for decades. However, we had some references to the film, some things we simply had to insert as a tribute to the film itself, including one scene that was filmed", he said and added that the director managed to give all the actors on stage "five minutes of fame".
"Even those with smaller roles got their five minutes, and the actresses who had no script had their own little piece of cake, which I think they did a great job. This was our 26th performance of the play, which, at least in our theater, is a record number. The ticket is constantly being asked for, we play often and the audience is accepting the show very well so far. As for the crowd in Budva, it was really good. At first they were a little restrained, but they relaxed over time. It's not our first time, the audience is not immediately euphoric, but later they adapt. It was our first time playing an outdoor show and we had to change some entrances and exits. There was very little improvisation, we stuck to the text, except maybe in a few situations with the bells of the surrounding churches, which fit well and to which we reacted, but when we play the play many times, then everything fits together well and there is not much room for improvisation." , he said.
The actress portrayed the character of Kristina in an unusual but masterful way Petra Bernarda Blasković who said that during the work on the play, the idea of women in society became more and more powerful.
"Olja and I, as female characters, don't have many sentences, but that gave us a special strength, which comes to the fore through the craft at the end of the play. It was hard, but also fun. In those one or two names, "Mirko" and "Đenka", I tried to express all states and emotions, using gestures and chewing gum, where text could not help. Preparing the body and facial expressions for this role was a challenge, because it was necessary to portray a woman as an object, without the right to vote, to whom men dictate the rules. It was interesting to work on how to portray a character that is completely repressed, while at the same time the actress is "cooking" inside and waiting for the moment to turn everything around and say: "Enough, it's not going like this anymore," she emphasized.
She added that the audience always reacts differently to the craft at the end of the play.
“As for the scene where my character refuses to be killed, we worked on it for a long time because it's a moment that can't be tried in rehearsals without an audience. It was a challenge how the audience would react and whether they would believe that we had completely stepped out of our roles. The audience convinced us that we are on the right track, especially through engagement and reactions. Each performance of that scene is different, because the audience reacts differently, sometimes provocations occur, so that requires an immediate response. But we haven't killed a character so far, the audience has always prevailed, rejecting violence. Honestly, sometimes I joke with the audience and tell them "shame on you" when they raise their hands, and it often embarrasses them".
In the play, in addition to Čepl, Blašković plays: Miroslav Čabraja, Duško Modrinić, Antonio Jakupčević, Ivica Lučić, Vladimir Tintor, Matija Kačan i Ivan Soldo Čabraj.
The author's team of the play, in addition to Olja Đorđević, who was in charge of the direction and adaptation, includes Ljubica Petrovic (scenography), Dubravka Skvrca (costume design), Saša Latinović (assistant for stage speech), Andreja Kulesević (choreography), Irena Popović/Nikola Dragović (music) and Danica Nikolić (to Song).
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