A mouth full of promises, a corrupt state system, the connection between politics and the mafia, patriarchal tails, the impossibility of getting out of the vicious circle, the suppression of every form of individual and collective resistance, silence, ignoring, hopelessness... This is a collage of Montenegrin everyday life, the one we live, about which we read and listen, but also the one staged in the director's play "Naličje". Boris Liješević.
Premiered on Wednesday evening, Liješević's author's project with a large ensemble of actors brings to the stage of the Montenegrin National Theater a condensed picture of reality, an engaged story that points the finger and does not allow sleepiness or infatuation, while at the same time problematizing the role of each individual in an apparatus that mechanically functions according to orders from (para)top of the social hierarchy.
By looking at the realistic characters, we also understand how the system really works, from those at the bottom of the social ladder who try to offer resistance, often not strong and courageous enough due to concern for existence, to those who expose wrongdoing, but not cautiously enough, to politicians who seem to be on top, in order to reach those who hold the strings in their hands, pockets, wallets - to controversial businessmen, heads of drug clans. All of them, without exception, are caught in the vortex of social disintegration, contributing in their own way to a state in which social values, norms and structures do not exist or are falling apart, as there is general stagnation and degradation.
Through hopeless (is it?) situations and numerous layers of society, the play is a kind of consequence of the system of corruption, crime and moral decay, and as such offers a theatrical reflection of the contemporary reality of Montenegro, as the director announced at the press conference. Thus, "Naličje" directly and cruelly pokes you in the eye and asks a question to which it simultaneously provides an answer - who is pure and who can remain so?
Certainly, in this story there are heroes you root for, there are hopes and ambitions, it seems that there are also solutions, but all of that is easily dispersed in the next moment, like dandelions or white powder from a sheet of paper...
While we witness the story of the mafia, "bosses", drug smuggling hidden behind business, while we listen to stories about valorization and while who knows how many times "everything will be fine" is uttered, many other questions are also raised, from environmental hypocrisy, corrupt movements and politicians, personal interests, to essential ones, such as the topics of the individual, family, domestic violence, mutual support, the perspective of young people, but also selective abortions, the state of education, healthcare, the prosecution, and then the position of journalists, those brave and daring , honest and ready for anything...
What characterizes the play is the superb symbolism that is subtly woven through names, terms, and phrases, and which should be read in order to more clearly bring to life the spaces and people of contemporary Montenegro. The characters have interesting names: Vuk is the leader of a clan that smuggles cocaine, he is also the owner of the port, Maksimilian is the owner of a discotheque, Sloboda is a journalist and so on... There are packages of bananas, cocaine, "green", but also "nobody's house" ( accidental or not), solar panels, (empty) promises...
The main actors of the play are the complete 19-member acting ensemble in which each individual is equally important. However, they stand out, both in their roles and in their acting skills: Aleksandar Radulović as Wolf and Lazar Đurđević like Luka. It is these two who begin and complete the complete story, a sad picture of reality. "Naličje" shows the tragedy of all characters, regardless of their positions, and, all in all, there are no pure and innocent people.
Divided into two obvious segments, with a third that finally puts an end to everything, the play strikes from the very beginning like a "bolt out of the blue" only to be followed by scenes from everyday life. The second act, however, brings a kind of change in the focus of the action, but also in rhythm and intensity, which is also contributed by the music, along with light effects that evoke the atmosphere of nightclubs. The director successfully uses carnivalization, emphasizing the chaotic vortex in which life unfolds as a continuous series of vices, smuggling, fraud, violence, but also pain. The maximally used scene, with scenography that seems completely natural and with which the actors themselves intervene, brings the fullness and bareness of the atmosphere and plot without excessive aestheticization.
In addition to all that, one of the most realistic moments of the play is its ending. It is the moment when the viewer realizes that everyone, including himself, is trapped in the system that shaped them and to which they themselves contribute... "Nalicje" is a brave, provocative play that presents a realistic picture of society, leaving the audience with bitterness , cruelly confirming, or rather showing, where we live.
Bonus video:
