The play 'Dust' directed by Veljko Mićunović closed the first day of the International Literature Festival in Podgorica, confirming why the play by the Hungarian writer Đerđa Spira one of the most performed regional creations in recent years.
In the intimacy of a duodrama, where the characters are only He and She (Zoran Cvijanovic i Nataša Ninković), the audience entered a story that transforms from a banal win of two million in the lottery into a profound mirror of everyday dreams, illusions and fears. He and She are symbols of our time, which invites the audience to find their own reflections in them. This is the power of the text in general, and especially Špir's: that the viewer recognizes themselves in situations that at first glance seem extreme: winning money, change, fear of loss, questioning identity. Špir's text shows that the transitional traumas that continue to trample us, destroying families and lives, are universal, not only ours, but also European. This discovery makes the play even more moving. It becomes somewhat easier for a person, because he realizes that this is a global phenomenon, that he shares the fate with almost half of Europe.
From the first lines, the audience reacted with laughter, recognizing the well-coordinated marital arguments and the comic moments of euphoria after the “win”. But as the evening progressed, the atmosphere thickened. Silence filled the hall in the moments when illusions began to break, when euphoric projections of the future turned into facing one’s own emptiness. This amplitude, from laughter to sadness, is the core of Špir’s text, but also confirmation that Mićunović’s direction hit the mark.
“A man with a backbone is born rich,” He says, responding to Her volleys of criticism and anger. “They are good (for us) because they have no money,” She says. “We got him too late - we got children too early, after everything I have been through, I can’t stand it.” The realization of a life’s dream - getting out of poverty that brings nothing but misfortune, turned into Pandora’s box from which all the repressed traumas and emotions that She had to transfer to her husband began to come out. Now the moment of relaxation has come, and from Her all the dissatisfactions that have been simmering for a long time have poured out. Everything leads to a clear conclusion: in their case, a lottery ticket is a shortcut to happiness, which does not exist, and if it does happen to someone, it lasts very short.
Mićunović relied on minimalist set design and a carefully timed rhythm of dialogue. The scene was not overloaded with symbols, but left space for the actors and their interaction with each other. The pauses were just as significant as the lines. This approach to the text makes Mićunović’s “Dust” quick, but not superficial.
In plays like this, success depends almost entirely on the chemistry on stage. He and She seemed to be partners and adversaries at the same time: close at one moment, estranged the next. The success of the two actors speaks to the importance of trust between partners because the audience responds precisely to that seesaw of intimacy and distance; when it is hit, you have a cathartic effect and the audience is thoughtful and shaken at the end. This dynamic kept the audience in suspense and made the characters' inner conflicts recognize themselves as our own.
The final scene, in which the dream of happiness turns to dust, was performed without pathos, but with enough power to leave the audience in silent contemplation. It was not a defeat, but rather a bitter realization: that happiness is not in numbers, but in the ability to tolerate ourselves and others, and that our happiness shows that it is immune to much-needed money. People left the hall shaken, some thoughtful, some with comments like “this is all of us”.
"Dust" directed by Mićunović is not just a theatrical piece, but a social mirror. Its strength lies in the simplicity and universality of its message. The Podgorica audience went through the entire emotional arc: from laughter to silence, and that is precisely the greatest success of the theater.
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