In addition to representative productions, the continuous aspirations towards high artistic achievements of the Podgorica City Theater are also proven by the organization of the second edition of the festival of the Regional Union of Theaters, RUTA GRUPA TRIGLAV, which opened the night before last in Podgorica with the host's performance, "Horses Kill, Don't They", and lasts until April 10.
Directed by a piece Kokan Mladenović, and according to the text Maje Pelević which was created based on the motifs of the novel Horace McCoy, the Podgorica City Theater is particularly proud, the young actress pointed out at the opening Lara Dragovic and a long-time member of this theater company Pavle Ilić, who were in the role of presenter, or host.
Dragović and Ilić took the opportunity to present the work of the City Theater at the opening of the Ruta Grupa Triglav festival, which, they pointed out, has a puppet, children's and evening stage, and will soon have its own building, the actors are optimistic.
Those present at the opening were greeted by the Secretary for Culture and Sports of the Capital City, Ana Medigović, who said that this particular festival is an innovative theatrical opportunity for drama creators, and especially for the domestic audience.
"Despite all the adversities we witnessed in the previous two years, we rightly expect that the festival in the coming period will acquire the epithet of traditional and establish itself as a recognizable theatrical form in European frameworks. The festival, with its special concept, provides an insight into the current theater events of the relevant regional theater centers", said Medigović.
On the occasion of the start of the second edition of the RUTA festival, a panel discussion was organized, but also on the occasion of the performance. The conversation was moderated by a playwright from the City Theatre Dragana Tripković who pointed out that festivals are a space for meetings that are as necessary for the theater as actors are for it. She added that festivals enable reunions, renewal of friendships and a space of freedom that is rarely found in the circumstances in which we live.
"Our intention is not only to include the presentation of plays, but to discuss them at these round tables, to see what poetic discourses they are and in which direction the regional theater is moving. I would look back at our play and say that it has a poetic license that is local, domestic, in a time of recession, general humiliation and struggle for existence, which is why it is similar to our time", said the director of the City Theater. Stevan Koprivica.
Although its title refers to the famous novel, the play is completely different from both the novel and the film, Ilić said before the performance.
"The modern version of this story is reality. A reality show in which some honest and good people participate because they are forced to do so by existential problems. Reality is not just some TV program, but metaphorically it also makes up our everyday life and the country we live in, where someone always promises us the prosperity of a big prize, and in the end..." he revealed.
One of the key differences between the text and the novel, which was noted and highlighted by the actor Dejan Đonović, is advocating revolution...
"Advocating a revolution, that is, a way to fight the establishment today and whether it is even possible today," Đonović said.
It is interesting that instead of an actor Emir Hadžihafizbegović, otherwise the director of Chamber Theater 55 from Sarajevo, who will be presented at Ruta tomorrow evening with the piece "Schindler's Lift", the role of Konferansi in the play "Horses Kill, Don't They" was taken over by the actor and artistic director of the City Theater, Dusan Kovačević.
It was demanding to get into the role, says Kovačević, but he responded to the challenge in the best way, as confirmed by the audience, including those who watched the play in the original cast.
"I am aware of how much effort my colleagues put into the process of working on this play and created fantastic roles, which is why it was not easy to fit in, and yet to play a role that should push them during the performance. The play provides several types of relationships with multiple layers and thus enables interaction with the audience, which is very important and which always reacts differently, which is why concentration and focus are needed to maintain its pace and rhythm," Kovačević said.
Last night, a play produced by the Ullysses Theater from Zagreb, "Land of the Wolves", based on the text, was performed on Ruta. Gale Nikolic who directed the play and Tonke Mršić who plays in the play. This monodrama echoes the genre of black comedy with elements of the absurd, and it was born out of the need to ask ourselves what it means to be a woman in a small community like Lika, what it means to be a woman in Croatia, and then these same questions can be transferred throughout the Balkans, even though the play deals with social rules, primarily Lika, but actually any other small community that affects the destinies of women at different ages.
The performance shook the audience and encouraged them to actively participate in the conversation after the performance, and the young and promising actress has positive impressions.
BDP closes the festival with the performance "Trpele" instead of "Silent Flowing Mississippi".
Tonight, the director's "Black Cumin Oil" is in the repertoire Barbara Zemlić in the production of the Municipal Theater of Ljubljana, as well as all performances, at 20 pm, in the KIC "Budo Tomović".
The program continues tomorrow with the play "Schindler's Lift" directed by Kokan Mladenović, on Saturday there will be a production of the Drama Theater of Skopje directed by Branislav Mićunović "My name is Goran Stefanovski", and the Belgrade Drama Theater will close the show on Sunday with the play "Trpele" directed by the director instead of the originally announced "Thiko teche Mississippi". The text for the play "Trpele" was written by Milena Depolo and Boban Skerlić, who is also the director of the play.
Zijah A. Sokolović's masterclass "Only the actor calls the theater into question" will be held today at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Cetinje, from 11 a.m. to 14 p.m. and tomorrow in Podgorica, at the same time in the Dodest KIC hall "Budo Tomović".
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