Precision is the word used by the actors of the play "Edward II", which was shown on the fourth competition night at the 20th International Festival of Actors in Nikšić, to describe the director's work and concept. The text, which was made by Christopher Marlowe, together with Saša Dimoski signs Andrij Žoldak, who is also the director of the play, co-production project NUCK "Jordan HK - Džinot" from Veles and Drama Theater "Masalitinov" in Plovdiv.
The play features: Boris Krstev, Ilin Jovanovski, Jovan Miladinova, Vasil Zafirčev, Jordan Vitanov, Branko Mihajloski, Kire Acevski, Nikola Petkovic, Sandra Tančeva, Marija Barkova, Leonida, Gulevska, Boban Aleksoski i Todor Stojkovski. The dramaturgy is written by Sašo Dimoski, the scenography by Andrij Žoldak i Danijel Zoldak, costume design Simon Machabeli i Rade Vasilev, music Saško Kostov, translation and proofreading Vesna Kostovska, while the assistant director was Nikola Kimovski.
The main actress in the play, Jovana Miladinova, who plays Isabela, although she is still a student, has won three awards at festivals so far. At the "Na raskršću" festival in Plovdiv, at the largest Macedonian festival "Vojdan Černodrinski" and at this year's MESS, she was declared the best young actress.
"This was really a big challenge for me. Precision was the key word for me that I had to stick to. We didn't have the freedom to create as actors, but the director always drew the best out of us. Through the process, we connected to understand each other without many words. I asked him how to be a mother - I'm only 20 years old. He told me that every woman carries it in herself, I just have to find it", said Miladinova after the play at a round table where the director and playwright talked to the actors. Radisav Jevrić.
And for Vasil Zafirčev, an actor with considerable experience behind him, working with Zoldak was challenging because all the actors for the first time had the opportunity to play in a play that was staged in a post-dramatic way.
"This is something completely new, completely different from everything we are used to. This is the programmatic and aesthetic highlight of our theater. It was the first time for all of us to encounter this kind of creation. It was intense, difficult, inspiring, because he asked all of us to forget everything we know and start from scratch. I said that I didn't know how to do it, but that I had confidence in him, and that I would leave it to him. We all surrendered to him", said Zafirčev.
The work on the play lasted about three months, and the rehearsals were 12 hours a day, and the actors were constantly in costumes so that they had the feeling that they were always in character.
"You have no room for interpretation - you perform a precisely defined score. Everything is measured, every step, every pause. That's how he works. The procedure is interesting, authentic, new, interesting. Regardless of the fact that 'Edward II' is being performed here for the first time, it is very interesting that Žoldak opens all his directorial keys in the play through female characters, never through male characters. "We are all playing in a post-drama monodrama of a very unfortunate, but very powerful, strong woman," Zafirchev pointed out.
"Reduced and minimalistically conceived, the scene emphasizes the feeling of discomfort: that's why the characters maniacally hit the walls, not finding a way out. How much of the will to power is the triumphant golden crown that circles the heads of the royal family, and how much is the crown of thorns as a reward for those masochistic efforts? The emphasis in the play is on the relationship between father and son, the effects of maternal deprivation, luxury and power, the need for marriage, but also the complexity of sexual orientation," wrote director Andrij Žoldak.
Tonight, awards will be given to the best, as judged by an expert jury, and in honor of the winners, the audience will have the opportunity to watch the play "Bear" performed and directed by Zijah Sokolović and the jazz trio "Lolita" from Ljubljana. It is about a performance that 16 years ago was part of the competition part of the International Festival of Actors and won an award.
The awards, the grand prix for the main female and male role, for the episodic female and male role and for the partnership on stage, were decided by a jury composed of - Zijah A. Sokolović, president, and Vesna Čipčić i Miloš Latinović, members.
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