Ceremonial opening of the XXXV Grad Theater festival

One of the most prestigious festivals in the region, the Grad Teatar Budva international festival, the 35th in a row, opened last night on the stage between the churches with the play "Blood Wedding" by Federik García Lorca, directed by Igor Vuk Torbica, a co-production of JU Grad Teatar and the Srpski National Theater from Novi Now.

Before that, a solemn opening ceremony was held for this year's festival, which takes place under the motto "Return to life".

Lubarda Marojević: Opening dedicated to Igor Vuk Torbica

Welcoming the audience and guests, the director of JU "Grad Teatar" Milena Lubarda Marojević said that "Grad Teatar" had a year behind it in which it seemed that everything conspired against it. From the epidemic plague, to the monstrous desire to stop the festival at all costs for the sake of politics and for the sake of someone's destructive instincts. "Fortunately, those plans did not come true," emphasized Lubarda Marojević.

In addition, as she added, the director Igor Vuk Torbica left us, who became more than just another director's name at the "Grad Teatar" festival. "He became our companion in the joint mission, a respectable support in the art world, someone from whom we learned on a daily basis," emphasized Lubarda Marojević. Because of all this, the opening as well as the first days of the 35th "Grad Teatar" festival are dedicated to Igor Vuk Torbica.

With its persistence on high poetic values ​​and its carefully selected programs, the "Grad Teatar" festival has earned the right to officially become a member of the most prestigious European festival family (European Association of Festivals) from this year. It exists in a city that wants to become the European capital of culture. Because of all that, the "City Theater" must remain a place of the highest values ​​of aesthetics and spirit.

If anyone is still wondering if all of this actually has that much significance and if all that struggle is worth so much effort, Lubarda Marojević answered in the words of Igor Vuk Torbica: "The power of the theater is not great, but it is always crucial. It reaches that part of people who will eventually hold the beam so that the whole roof does not collapse on us"

Tsarević: Grad Theater will always have the support of the Municipality of Budva

The festival was officially opened by the President of the Municipality of Budva, Marko Carević, who emphasized that the goal and mission of the festival administration is to make the "City of Theater" an important point on the European map of theater events and to open space for the tendencies of contemporary theater in this city. "In this endeavor, he will always have the support of the founder - the Municipality of Budva", said Carevic.

He added that there is no theater without an audience. "That's why you, who have been witnessing what happens on the stage for three decades from the other side of the stage, are the most responsible for the duration of this festival. Let's not forget, the stage is all around us. Political, social, the simplest everyday human, but this scene is special. On it, the starting points are re-examined, the goals and the path are outlined... Where have we arrived and where should we go?", pointed out Tsarević.

"Forty years ago, Budva was mercilessly destroyed by the forces of nature. The stage city was designed to bring people back to the earthquake-ravaged city. And this edition of the festival is in the same sign: a return to life, in a sign of human cunning to outsmart transience, in a sign of the desire for play, for laughter, for questions and for existence," said Tsarević.

Bloody weddings followed by cheers

A full audience on the stage between the churches gave a standing ovation to the play "Blood Wedding", which had its premiere at the 32nd "Grad Teatar" festival in 2018, and then continued its theatrical life on stages throughout the region.

The premiere performance on the stage of the Serbian National Theater was also in 2018, and the play was also in the regular repertoire during the 2018-2019 season. It was also shown at the 23rd Yugoslav Theater Festival "Bez prevoda" in Užice, where Milica Grujičić received the Ardalion award for the best female role. At the MIT festival in the Royal Theater "Zetski dom" in Cetinje, the play "Blood Wedding" was declared the best play. The play was also performed in front of a Slovenian audience at the 26th Primorska Poletna Festival in Koper, as well as at the "Bar Chronicle" and "Purgatory". It was shown at the 33rd "Gradu Teatr", as well as at the Montenegrin Theater Biennale in Podgorica, where Igor Vuk Torbica was awarded the award for best director, Varja Đukić for best female role, and Vladimir Pejković for best music.

Numerous recognitions have led to this multi-awarded play continuing its theatrical life, despite the premature departure of its author, director Igor Vuk Torbica.

He was a member of the younger generation of theater directors, and in the opinion of many critics as well as the audience throughout the region, one of the best, not only in his generation, but also in the entire contemporary theater scene of the region of the former Yugoslav countries.

Actor Pavle Popović said that playing this play was special for him for several reasons.

"We haven't played "Blood Wedding" for two years. Last year, the director of our play committed suicide, so this performance was special in itself and carried a different emotion. Of course, not to be anything pathetic, which he wouldn't like to be either, but we did our best to do what he asked of us and to thank him that way," he pointed out.

Actress Maja Stojanović stated that the whole process was very intense due to all the circumstances.

"We received corrections from other collaborators who are there and who follow us and who simply knew what the play was like at the premiere and how it developed later. These are all Igor's friends, who did not allow us to excessively change anything, not even in the emotional sense, but to keep the measure, because Igor insisted all the time that it should flow like a river and that there should be no pathos. So we, well, that part somewhere between us cried so intimately, and tonight we tried to honor all the tasks he gave us", she said.

Actress Milica Grujičić pointed out that everything about the performance of this play was very emotional.

"We found ourselves, of course, with the memory of Igor, who is no longer with us, and that is quite difficult. But we are still playing a show that we all made together in great love and this was like a new premiere, it was quite strange, various things happened. My heart is simply full and I am happy that we are in this environment again and everything is really magical. I don't know, there are many emotions".

The performance "Blood Wedding" is also on the program on Sunday, July 11, starting at 21 p.m. on the stage between the churches.