In addition to power, there is also a soul

What would Montenegro be like today if Nikola Petrović was the king handed over the throne to one of his daughters, is a question that, among many others, is subtly and indirectly raised by the play "My Daughter".

According to the text Maje Todorovic and directed Ana Vukotić, this drama will be performed tonight on the Great Stage of the Montenegrin National Theater for the jubilee, 50th time, at 20 p.m. The piece won a large number of performances and a number of awards in a relatively short time, surviving even in the circumstances when the corona virus pandemic closed the doors of the theaters, and the rigorous measures may have particularly affected that sphere.

Nevertheless, the play survives, as does the theater, the actor points out, among other things Mirko Vlahovic who in this play portrays King Nikola, but primarily the father of the princess Zorke which game Vanja Jovićević. The fact that tickets for "Šćeri moja" are still in high demand six years after the premiere is also shown by the fact that tickets for the 49th and 50th performances are sold out in advance, and numerous awards testify to the quality: Purgatory Festival Award for the best male role to Mirko Vlahović; CNP awards for 2016 - Great award to Mirko Vlahović, Annual to Ana Vukotić; Awards of the Actor's Festival in Nikšić - Grand prix for the best male role to Mirko Vlahović, Grand prix for the best female role to Vanja Jovićević and Grand prix for the best episodic role to Slavko Kalezić; JPF Awards, Užice - "Ardalion" for the best young actress and Politics Award "Avdo Mujčinović" to Vanja Jovićević.

"Vijesti" interlocutor, CNP champion, Vlahović reminds that the play is a joint success of the entire team both on and behind the stage. He is a stage designer Aleksandar Vukotic, costume designer Leo Kulaš, assistant costume designer Lina Lekovic, Aleksandar Radunović Popaj did the music, Sonja Vukicevic is the choreographer of the show, Balša Pocek is an associate in dramaturgy and the executive producer of the play Nela Otašević. Cast: Vanja Jovićević, Mirko Vlahović, Varja Đukić, Slavko Kalezić, Dušan Kovačević, Goran Vujović, Stevan Radusinović, Slobodan Marunović, Danilo Čelebić, Zoran Vujović i Miso Obradovic.

In addition to the jubilee performance of the play "My Daughter", the director's film "The Key" will be premiered today at the Kombank Hall in Belgrade. Marko Sopić, in which Mirko Vlahović stars. The roles in the film are played by: Sonja Kolačarić, Radivoje Raša Bukvić, Branimir Bane Popović, Mirko Vlahović, Rastko Janković, Boris Komnenić, Ljubomir Ljuba Bandović, Džek Dimić, Isidora Građanin, Jelica Kovačević... The film has so far been characterized in the media as a local "Da Vinci Code", and brings the intriguing theme of the fight for a valuable Byzantine relic - the treasure of Constantine, the legacy of Despot Stefan.

Mirko Vlahović talks to "Vijesti" about the play "My Daughter", theater, life and art, conveys his impressions from the filming of the movie "Ključ" and points out that, regardless of everything, the Montenegrin National Theater is his home. The best indicator of this is his office, which, although a modest space, shows his life, people, things and moments that are important to him, from the founder of the national theater, through photos from numerous performances, prestigious awards, and even to his son Petra who followed in his footsteps.

The play "My Daughter" will be performed in front of the audience for the 50th time tonight. The local audience especially likes that play, perhaps because of the very attractive subject matter. How do you perceive this jubilee?

The play "Ščeri moja" is especially dear to me. It is a very good story, life and human, so as such it is close and accessible to everyone. People identify with the characters in the play, they think about my character, King Nikola and his moves, but also about his daughter Zorka, about the fight for the throne, about emotions, love, and all of this starts with persuasion and laughter, and ends in tears, along with the audience. It is an interaction worthy of respect on both sides. I also remember a unique work process that was very inspiring. That play is very successful, we all love it and it has been filling the auditorium of the Montenegrin National Theater for five years, to our joy and to the joy of our audience.

During the first wave of the corona virus, the recording of the play was also broadcast on the Public Service when it reached the wider public, and perhaps thus additionally invited people to (re)watch it.

It's probably true that the show on television attracted some viewers, but I'm against such broadcasts in principle, because it's absolutely impossible to record what's happening on stage and in the audience, it's impossible to convey the atmosphere of the theater. That's why theater is magic, and theater through television or YouTube loses its charm. The play, like the theater, has survived many things, so it will survive this too. On the other hand, the theater is also transitory in a way. How many great actors and great performances were there that were not recorded. Certainly, I'm glad to hear that the theater tickets are sold out, as they were for both nights of the performance of "My Daughter".

Speaking about that performance and the work process, you once told "Vijesti" that you approached King Nikola in the following way: "Who are you if you are Nikola - now you are me." You also said that you did not focus on him as a king, a ruler, but more as a father. Who is Nikola that you play?

That's right. I played Nikola primarily as a father. However, even though he is the father, there is another thing, and that is the law. And the law is the law, and according to that law the heir to the throne must be a man. If the law had been different, who knows what history would have been like. I'm small to talk about it, but in the end, what are we left with but emotions? What is left for us to offer and provide? Just emotions. Somewhere, some rationality tells us that we should act thoughtfully, and emotion sometimes pulls us to act differently, to play on something that is outside of that, so a person breaks down, and it doesn't matter if he is a master or an ordinary person. Thus, a person breaks between reality, reality, will, desire, essence, and events move quickly and a person finds it difficult to navigate all of this. At the same time, we are bombarded with all kinds of information every day, so it is difficult to live the real reality. That's why a live person in the theater means a lot, to see emotion and life live.

The theater seems to stop the flow of life and technology and keep man in front of the stage.

That's right, but in the stage sense, the technology must be represented with all the people who work on it. Because the play is not only what is seen on the stage, we are practically just a product, while behind us are people who do their work at a high level. We keep forgetting that theater has existed for more than 2.000 years.

Which would mean that there is no crisis or danger for the theater...

No, because the theater always survived. There were huge crises, and huge crises were created and the theater survived them, is surviving them and will survive them, because the meaning of the theater is above all that. The meaning of the existence of the theater and the play is a big thing. A successful performance is one that encourages the viewer to think, even for 10, 15 or more minutes after watching the play.

The relationship between father and child is always specific, and the relationship between father and daughter is perhaps particularly mythologically developed and uniquely described in our country. When ruling roles and titles are involved, how much does that relationship change? How can we see society then and today through the relationship between Nikola and Zorka? The play leaves room for thinking, for imagination, for getting into their shoes...

We can never know what would happen if it did. The play shows that apart from power there is also something called the soul. And when your soul hurts, it's hard. I'm afraid that all of us, for whatever reasons, have a little bit of soul pain, and we all as a society should go towards the healing of our souls. Emancipation is very necessary, but that does not mean enslaving it in the ultimate sense of the word. There is no emancipation without tradition. There needs to be a harmony, and how willing we are to learn, respect our own and ourselves - that is a question for each individual, including all nations. For these 50 performances, the play was, I won't say upgraded or changed, but it matured just as Zorka in that play matured, and I, that is, Nikola, aged. Zorka matures as an actress and as a character, and that also gives a specific scent and a new dimension to everything. Through experience and practice, the performance gains even more spirit and more and more importance. I am sure that she will remain in the album of CNP and that she will have an important place there.

This emancipation is often sought by breaking tradition.

By emancipation, I mean working on yourself in every domain, and tradition is something bigger. This theater did not start with me, there are many people behind me (figuratively and literally - in the photos in the office that are behind Vlahović during the interview). Dragica Tomas, Vlado Popović and others - they are the foundations of this, while we all continue to build a few bricks into that wall. So, you have to be aware of who you are from, who you are and what you are, without emphasizing it, but leaning on your predecessors and moving on. I have been doing this work for 30 years and I am aware that it is not all about me or for me, but the memory and memory of some other people, great artists who created in this country and state, must be preserved. They must have a deserved place today, not only theater people, but artists in general.

Do we have this culture of remembrance and respect?

Less and more. I don't want to share advice, but I think we should work to ensure that deserving people are not forgotten. Great names and significant people, cultural heritage, tradition, must remain recorded and exist in some funds so that some man in 50 or 100 years can see what the people before him did. You should think about it, especially when everything is possible "with a click". Cultural heritage must be preserved and people must be protected from oblivion. What I'm talking about - visual artists have the prestigious Lubarda Award, we also have the literary award Miroslavljevo jevandjelje, then the Ratković Award, and drama artists do not have their own national award that would be awarded in their profession. There is also the Njegoš award, but there is no national award for theater workers; I don't mean the state one that we can get like anyone else from other spheres. That's why I think it would be worthwhile to establish an award intended for people from the guild that I am involved in. That speaks to how important this is to us. And everything in the theater is there to truly and primordially provide the story. Theater asks questions and gives answers, as it has both an educational and an entertaining form. Almost all arts are created in one theatrical act.

And nothing leaves a more vivid impression than a play.

That's right, it was then and never again. Even when playing several nights in a row, it's always something different, a different energy, performance, rapport, and even time. When the performance draws you into its content, you become a self-conscious and self-loving prisoner of the time you use in the theater to enjoy what is on the stage. You are ennobled, touched, maybe smiling, and you received a dose of good medicine that lifts you up. Then we hit the target.

What does that theater house represent for you, as the champion of the CNP?

CNP is my home. I'm here. I am the content. The acting lives in that home. We should celebrate life, theater, artists, culture of this country of all peoples and everything that Montenegro is and present it abroad with respect and pride.

I work when they call me

You have been involved in many film and television projects in the region, many of which have achieved great success.

That's right. The second season of the popular series "Shadows over the Balkans" is behind us, and now the third will be made. I also filmed the first season of the series "South Wind", then two films, and the new season. I would also like to mention the series "Debt to the Sea", the series "Beak", which was awarded in Cannes, which is a big deal, the film "Escape to the Sea" by Veljko Bulajić is in post-production, the series "Močvara", and I also worked on an interesting film directed by Nenad Pavlović, whose premiere will take place soon, the film is called "Trag divljači". In March, the filming of the film "Crack in the Ice" by director Maja Miloš will follow.

Tonight, the film "Ključ" will be premiered in Serbia, in which Bane Popović and I are engaged, and which is directed by Marko Sopić. I am sure that the film will be watched and will be interesting. Basically, when they call me, I work.

How was the process of working on the film "The Key" and do you regret not attending the premiere?

The film will be watched even after the premiere, and I'm certainly not a red carpet person, I prefer cobblestones. I think we need normalcy, because I'm afraid we're making a reality show out of our lives, in all social contexts.

As for the movie "The Key", I have a lot of respect for the whole crew. Certainly, the seriousness is on a special level. I also think that there (in Serbia, prim. Nov.) there is a market match with undisputed quality. There, the professional standards are extremely high, and it is a privilege to get a job, and this applies to the entire crew, not just the actors. Of course, if you don't do your job professionally, there is always a queue of other people waiting for their chance. The professionalism of those film and television crews in the region is at the highest possible level.

Months of meetings go by without anyone mentioning culture

How much political turbulence is felt in the theater?

Of course they feel it, because unfortunately we also depend on politics, starting with the budget. However, this is our island of freedom. The theater is an island of freedom with individual personalities who have freedom, because there is no creativity without freedom. Freedom is an extremely important factor. But, I repeat, you should not worry about the theater and you should hire new people. Not to discourage, but to give a chance to young actors, producers, directors. That's why I'm glad to see that Zetski dom got an ensemble last year, that an ensemble is being created in the Nikšić theater as well, these are all important steps. But what I don't understand are systematizations in the theater. How can you estimate that the national theater should have exactly 30 and not, for example, 40 actors? And every year new generations come out. Society, government, institutions, the ministry should take care of this, because our time will pass, and theirs is yet to come, and we should take care in advance, give them space.

I follow the situation in society. I see and support healthcare workers who fight for their rights, education workers who fight for their rights, but I don't hear women from culture fighting for the rights of creators. And when I look at people in power, I see that they talk about anything and everything, with or without reason, while culture remains on the margins of social reality. Months of meetings and conversations pass without anyone mentioning culture.

Maybe it counts on the self-sustainability of the culture?

It is self-sustaining. Those of us who are truly engaged in culture are people who are only looking for and want to work, while some professions also want to rest, once in a while. We always want to work, because an actor is unhappy when he is not working, as well as a director, scenographer and everyone else.

The theater leaves a mark in the process of spiritual maturation

Do you communicate with the audience, do you listen to them during the performance or between performances, even off stage?

I respect the audience, but I'm always focused on what I'm in, especially on stage. Then there is that "fourth wall", that is the darkness that separates you. However, as an actor, you are certainly a self-aware being who hears reactions and you are always glad when they are good. Last week I played "Youth without God" which was wonderfully received by the audience. That play has a big and important message and it's good that it was staged. I must say that I noticed that the structure of the audience has changed, I see a lot of young people, and that makes me especially happy. It is important to have the memory of being in the theater when you were young and watching a play, it leaves a mark on people's spiritual maturation, in a cultural and sociological sense, because the theater is a noble and sincere thing. Also, in that play, "young hopes" from the Academy appeared, some new faces at the old address, which is also a permanent address, which is the CNP. That's why you should pay attention to new, young people, but also to new texts.