The Budva library decided that after clarifying the fate of the greatest Budva actor Bogoboj Rucović for the second theater production of this year's festival, he took the biography of the famous ruler Jelena of Anjou. Little is known about its connection with Budva and the Catholic heritage of this city.
Jelena Kajgo got the opportunity to write a play about this influential and famous Serbian ruler for the new Budva festival. At the end of the year, it is planned to print the drama itself and present it to the public during the festivities for the days of the municipality of Budva.
Kajgo graduated in dramaturgy at the Academy of Arts, and received her master's degree in interdisciplinary postgraduate studies at the Rectorate of Arts in Belgrade. For more than 20 years, her plays have been successfully performed on stages throughout the former Yugoslavia, and she is even better known to our audience through her work with the Bitef dance company, which she founded.
The play's premiere is scheduled for tonight at 21 p.m. on the stage Between the Churches in the Old Town of Budva, and the first rerun the next day on the same stage.
This year it is safe to say that you are the host in Budva. You had projects at the Adriatic Festival of Games, even several in which you personally participated as a producer and member of the Bitef Theater. And now you are the author of the play "Jelena of Anžujska". How do you observe the cultural events in Budva since you have been intensively involved in them for a long time?
I think it is very significant that the Adriatic Festival of Dance came to life in Budva, as well as the fact that the "Cirilica" festival has been enriched, and now also includes theater productions. In addition to the Budva City Theater, which runs through the middle of summer, with these new programs the cultural scene of Budva has become extremely rich and diverse. I am glad that the Adriatic Game Festival has developed so quickly and secured a significant role for itself in the entire region. There are few dance festivals, and especially few that have their own production, and this festival had as many as five of them this year, which really deserves a special place, because it encourages local and regional dance production.
Regarding the above, few people know that you are, in a way, one of the "founders" of the Grad Teatar festival. You participated in the first years, at the founding itself. Tell us a few words about it and how much has changed since then?
Yes, I had the pleasure that my first professional performance in my acting career was "Bolero", Damir Zlatar Fraja, an extraordinary achievement in which she excelled Sonja Vukicevic and which we played at the Citadel in 1988, that is, only one year after the founding of the festival. It was a magical experience, especially for me, who graduated from the "Lujo Davičo" ballet school in June, and had the premiere a month later in a truly unusual setting. Under a starry sky, on a stage strewn with flour and earth, we danced while the wind blew and the sound of the waves hitting the rocks was heard. A few days later we played the play "Alef", which was performed on the stage between the churches. The second part of the performance took place in the church of Santa Marija in Punta, where the audience followed us. It was a real example of alternative, ambient theater, modeled on the plays that came to Bitef. Many things have changed since then, our country fell apart, the cultural environment is different all over the world, not only here, you constantly have to prove to someone that culture is important, that it is not an expense or a luxury, but a matter of identity and a daily need. But despite everything, capitalism that awakens hunger for possessions and instills fear of the future in people, despite reality shows, shopping malls and new generations moving to the digital world, despite all this, the theater continues and will continue. This is evidenced by three festivals during the summer in Budva, and an audience that fills the auditoriums to capacity.
Where did the idea and inspiration for dealing with such a complex personality like Jelena of Anžujska come from?
Last year, we received an offer to work for the "Ćirilicam" festival with the dance performance "Zidanje Skadra", which I found very interesting. Choreographer Miloš Isailović and the dancers of the Bitef dance company created a new, very exciting and poetic interpretation of that famous folk song. As a continuation of the collaboration, several topics were proposed for this year, one of which particularly caught my attention, and that is the story of the life of Jelena of Anžujska. It was a great pleasure to plunge into the darkness of the Middle Ages and see that light that for decades illuminated the court of Nemanjić, a woman who was learned, noble, brave, a great enlightener and a great benefactor. The long-time ruler of Zeta at the time when her husband, Emperor Uroš, and then her sons Dragutin and Milutin took turns at court.
You are the selector of the ballet program that takes place within the Purgatory festival. Bearing in mind that you have a very long management experience, first at Bitef, and then at the National Theater in Belgrade, you are invited to tell us whether you think it is too much for a small country like Montenegro to have six large open-air theater summer festivals and that in about the same period?
I think it's great, to invest in culture, to offer quality content to the audience. So, as long as there are quality performances and as long as there is interest from the audience, there should be as much as possible on offer. Of course, summer and the large number of tourists should be taken into account here, which is also an incentive to increase cultural activities. It is often said that there are too many festivals in Serbia, but in some smaller towns it is the only opportunity for people to see performances from different cities or regions.
Let's go back to Anjou. It is assumed that this ruler had a great influence on the history of Budva. Can you tell us something about that, as well as whether you deal with that theme in the play?
Queen Jelena ruled Zeta, which included a large part of the territory of today's Montenegro. Since she was born a Catholic, she was very influential in that part of the sea where the Catholic population mostly lived. For example, she was the patron of the Ratac monastery, from where the monks transferred the miraculous icon of St. Mary to the church of Santa Marija in Punta in Budva. It is a wonderful fact that we will play the show right in front of that church.
There is a written charter by which her son, King Milutin, confirms the properties she donated to the monastery, which is a precious document, because there are not many written traces that can be used to reliably and completely reconstruct her life. But what was important to us, and for which we have evidence in her life, is that she opened schools at her courts for young girls whom she educated, taught cooking and embroidery, then gave them a dowry and helped them get married and continue an independent life . At the court, she had a book store, a rich library, copies of important books translated from Greek and Latin.
The main actress in the play is a person with whom you and Tatjana Mandić Rigonat have collaborated several times - Marija Bergam. Did you also think of her while you were writing the character of Anžujska, or did it all just happen by chance?
I did not have the character of the actress in my head when I wrote this drama, but after it was finished, the choice of the director and I came down to Maria Bergam very quickly. Her character, appearance, acting power and charisma illuminate Jelena's character in the best way. Of course, it is accompanied by a great cast, actors who presented this story with a lot of energy, enthusiasm and talent.
The stage between the churches is the place where the premiere of the big co-production between the National Library of Budva and the Princely Serbian Theater from Kragujevac will be played. On the other hand, just a few days later, they will be playing indoors in Kragujevac at the official opening of the Joakim Fest festival. How do you, as a playwright, see the place of play, which is more suitable for her?
The advantage of the scene in Budva is that the environment will be perfect for the presentation of this drama. She almost doesn't need another scenery. But on the other hand, there are always challenges, whether it will rain, whether music will be heard from the surrounding clubs... It is difficult to silence a city that has its own life and needs to meet different needs. In a closed space, the ambiance is lost, but you get silence and the audience's complete concentration on the events on stage. So things are actually even.
You have been coming to the Ćirilica festival for a couple of years. Now you can already make your own judgment about its character, mission and importance for Budva and Montenegro.
I think that the festival is excellently designed, that on the one hand it has the function of a "culture of remembrance" of significant historical figures and events, but on the other hand it has the dynamics of discussions, forums, exchange of opinions with eminent guests on topics that are contemporary and important. I like the concept of diversity where the audience can follow literary evenings, concerts, exhibitions and theater performances day after day. And I must say that I like the principle of free entry for spectators. I have often been the target of criticism for my opposition to the idea that art must be in the market and represent market principles of profit. If it is a matter of private production, I agree with that concept. But if you have donations and funding from the state, that is, all of us who in some way own the state budget, then it must be available to everyone. And that also makes this festival special, the availability of cultural content, which nowadays is more necessary than ever.
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