The Conscience of the Epoch on Stage: The Trial of Marlena in Front of the City Theatre Audience

As a continuation of this year's drama program of the Grad Teatar festival, last night the play "Marlene Dietrich - Five Charges / Marlena" was performed on the stage between the churches, which, through an original dramaturgical structure and striking acting, tells the story of one of the most fascinating icons of the 20th century - an actress, singer, woman and symbol of freedom.

The play reconstructs a fictitious trial Marlene Dietrich guided by the conscience of the era, in which she is "judged" for the decisions she made at key historical moments, from leaving Nazi Germany, through open opposition to Hitler, to her controversial status at home and abroad. The five counts of the indictment become five windows into the biography of a woman whose life was as much stage as it was political. At the center of this monodrama is the inner drama of a woman who became a symbol, and then a target, and last night the audience had the opportunity to witness a powerful acting transformation and a combination of introspective text, archival references and strong visual language.

The audience followed the performance with attention and long-lasting applause, recognizing in Marlene Dietrich not only a figure from the past, but also the universal dilemma of the individual facing a collective judgment, a dilemma that, as this performance shows, is still astonishingly relevant today. This performance is an author's project Haris Pašović in co-production with the National Theatre, Sarajevo and Mittelfest Cividale in cooperation with BNP Zenica.

After playing in Budva, Pašović said that the ambiance between the churches is always special. "We have never had a show like this before and it was very interesting." Mirjana Karanović has already performed here, and some actors are in this kind of environment for the first time and it's wonderful for them to hear the sea while they perform and there was that one cat that walked throughout the entire performance so I love performing here and these actors who are from Sarajevo, who haven't performed before, are really thrilled. It's a bit difficult to perform here because it's not very well-conditioned, there are some infrastructure problems behind the scenes, but we all somehow endure it because the atmosphere is pleasant and because the audience is so good. I'm not even against music in Budva, it brought a certain energy and we sometimes went to that music after the performances and now I have to say that I miss it.”

In addition to the director and author of the play, Haris Pašović, the author team consists of Lada Maglajlic i Vedad Orahovac, scenography, Vanja Ciraj Džuža i Irma Saje, costume designer Dino Šukalo and Studio “Modra Rijeka”, composer, Branislav Milinković.

The play features: Mirjana Karanovic, Mona Muratovic, Elmir Krivalic i Enes Salković.

After the performance, Salković said that he was overjoyed to be performing on the stage between the churches for the sixth time.

"I set out on this journey with enthusiasm because I knew that this was truly a special setting in the Old Town of Budva. I know that there is an audience here who has been raised, who appreciates and respects theatre and who watches and listens to the play. I think that in today's world it is very important to talk about such topics, at a time when it is very important to stand on the right side of history, truth, justice. Of course, all of this involves sacrifice and there must be sacrifices and suffering, but today, when we are witnesses to everything that is happening in the area, but also on the entire globe, it is extremely important to tell the truth and be on the side of the truth at any cost," said Salković.

Mona Muratović revealed that this was her second time performing at the Grada Teatar and that she first performed at the festival twenty years ago.

"I had my debut here in 2005, up at the Citadel we played 'Hamlet' played by Dragan Mićanović, and directed Dusan Jovanovic. It was a wonderful performance and my first professional one, although everyone remembers it because a bug got in my hair. I say that because I remember how challenging it is to play outdoors, like tonight, but on the other hand it is also wonderful. When we play this play, and we have played all over the region, we have this big screen with all these projections, but now it was so wonderful and it gave a new note and a new depth to that story. I will remember this performance for a long time and I think that the audience in Budva followed the play very well, I think they felt that story.