The first cycle of rehearsals for a new comedy, which will premiere on August 10th at the 39th Grad Teatar festival, began yesterday in Skopje, the public institution announced.
"'The Life of Provincial Playboys or We Want Others' Things - We Don't Give Our Own' is one of the early comedies of the famous director and writer Dusan Jovanovic, the director of this play is Ivan Penovic, and the project's co-producers are: Drama Theatre Skopje, Municipal Theatre Ljubljana, Belgrade Drama Theatre and City Theatre Budva. The cast consists of actors from all four countries, and includes: Julita Kropec, Sonja Stamboldzioska, Jovana Spasić, Nejc Jezernik, Marko Gvero, Ivan Tomic, Lazar Nikolic, Lazar Hristov i Marjan Naumov", they point out from the City of Theatre.
Dušan Jovanović (1939–2020) was one of the most significant and prolific theatre directors, playwrights and essayists in the former Yugoslavia and Slovenia. His work has left a deep mark on contemporary theatre, especially through his experimental approach and critical attitude towards social and political issues. The audience of Grad Teatar remembers his "Hamlet" from 2005, a co-production between the Grad Teatar festival and Sarajevo's MESS. This play was known for its innovative approach and reinterpretation of Shakespeare's classic in the context of contemporary social issues. Dušan Jovanović left an indelible mark on the history of our festival, not only as a director but also as a visionary who helped shape its identity. The reason for this project is the common desire of all co-producers to mark the 5th anniversary of the death of the great creator. Director Ivan Penović is also known for his innovative approach to theatre, which combines seemingly incompatible theatre genres and dramatic elements from life and art in general. He is a recognized and awarded author of a large number of different projects, but in general his style is characterized by a modern and humorous concept of communication between actors and audience, with a lot of comedy through innovative and experimental forms. Since January of this year he has been engaged as the director of drama at the Croatian National Theatre Split. His plays have been performed with great success at previous editions of the Grad Teatar festival.
"The play will be performed in Budva at a new ambient location that is under preparation. Due to the specific concept dictated by the structure of the text as well as co-production diversity, the play will be performed simultaneously in the languages of all participants," the City of Theatre states.
Immediately after Budva this summer, the premieres of this play will also follow on the stages of other co-producers: on August 17th at the "Ohrid Summer" festival, then at the "Ulysses" festival on Brioni, and in the fall in Belgrade, Ljubljana and Skopje.
Bonus video:
