Tonight, the MIT Festival 2017 will begin with the premiere of the play "Night" at the Zetski Dom Royal Theater, which will last until September 28. This play was directed by the Macedonian director Andrej Cvetanovski, based on the text of the Montenegrin writer Aleksandar Radunović, and dramatized by Božo Koprivica. The ensemble consisting of: Petar Božović, Ana Vujošević, Nikola Perišić and Marko Todorović will bring to life on stage the story of one family, set in one night. It is a story about scattered love and lost, missed time in life.
"I am sure that the family, i.e. what it means to grow up and live in such a community determines a person to the greatest extent, so it is not surprising that many greats of dramatic literature, from Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, through Shakespeare and Moliere, to Ibsen, Chekhov and many others, dealt with the phenomenon of family relationship. After all, the human voyeuristic impulse is most often directed towards the most intimate and well-hidden events in a person's life, so it seems to me that the archetypal images of relationships: mother-daughter, father-son, and vice versa, largely reflect what happens on in a broader plan when it comes to interpersonal relations. That's why, in an attempt to shed light on human nature, the family has always been an important and relevant topic," writer Aleksandar Radunović said before the premiere.
"Winning freedom - that is man's sacred duty. Winning freedom in the yard, on the street, in the playground, at school, in puberty, in the profession, in friendship, in the confession, in the nation, in the revolution, winning freedom in freedom... Winning freedom in the family. In chamber and large drama there is pathos and pride, gentleness and biting, trickery and outplaying... There is also humor, delayed humor that sticks in the throat. At the rehearsals there was chatter and sparks, but more effort and joy of recognition. And what we did - the viewers, our dearest guests, will say", said the playwright of the play, Božo Koprivica.
"The human voyeuristic impulse is most often directed towards the most intimate events"
"The story of the breakup of the family is a local but also a global issue. This is a story about the collision of old tradition and new time, in that balance lies the art of living in the Balkans. This text is about that. How can we find ourselves in that rift between what was and what is to come. The role of Božo Koprivica, who helped me understand the Montenegrin mentality, was very important to me," said director Andrej Cvetanovski.
In the play "Night", the actor Petar Božović portrays the character of Drago, a tired man, who created wealth, but also took over all the power in the family, thereby distancing himself from his children. The victims of his care and dedication are his wife, both sons - one is a drunkard, and the other ran away from home because of his sexual orientation.
"I am happy that after 10 years I am back in Cetinje, to renew old friendships, to meet again in this beautiful theater jewel, the Royal Theatre. The writer has bravely tackled the problem that is right there in front of us, we often pretend not to notice it. The writer, no doubt talented, gave us a great challenge and task. How are we going to get out of it? I think we will..I'm very curious how the audience will receive it. This time the theater puts that problem before the audience. We'll see. If God gives heroic luck, it will be good," said the famous actor Petar Božović.
"In the piece 'Night', above all, I tried to deal with conventions and family canons, which imply that there are things that are not talked about. Things we pretend don't exist even though we know they're there and will never go away, despite persistently closing our eyes. It seems to me that it is not Montenegrin specific, even though we try to be at least a little more abnormal than others", said Aleksandar Radunović about his drama.
The scenography for the play is by Sergej Svetozarev, the costume design by Lina Leković, and the lighting design by Milco Aleksandrov.
Conflicting doctrines reconciled in the music of Rambo Amadeus
In the Montenegrin reality, the most intriguing thing is what is essential in us, perhaps it is fear and misunderstanding between parents and children who strive to win freedom, especially in a context that implies shame and refusal to admit the truth, until the very end. The story about society and people, in which old and new understandings painfully intertwine, was perfectly rounded off by Rambo Amadeus, who composed the music for the play.
"I experienced the text of the play as a critical cross-section of society at the present moment, where traditional and modern ethics clash, so I decided that the music contains both traditional and modern music that try to form a coherent whole. I would like modern society to reconcile these conflicting doctrines in the same way that they have been reconciled in the music I've done. I hope that the performance, although at times very difficult, will actually contribute to understanding the moment and opening a dialogue between the generations who still rule, who have the power in their hands, with the generations of twenty-year-olds and, for God's sake, thirty-year-olds, for whom there is still not enough space under the sun of Montenegro, but also of the entire region", said composer Rambo Amadeus.
Bonus video:
