Starting from the question of what the left and right represent today, both globally and for ourselves, a young Montenegrin director Nataša Milićević She bravely decided to stage a play on the Montenegrin theater stage for her master's thesis. Thomas Bernhard, thus bringing the great writer to the domestic theater for the first time.
The play "Before Retirement, a Comedy about the Soul" premiered last night on the "Studio" stage of the Montenegrin National Theatre (CNP). The director tackled the complex work of Thomas Bernhard with exceptional solutions, the CNP said in a statement. Milićević expressed great satisfaction that the play premiered at the national theatre and recalled the high-quality cooperation between the CNP and the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Cetinje.
The director particularly pointed out the importance of performing Bernhard today, in the contemporary moment in Montenegro, but also in the Balkans.
"The importance is not that he criticizes fascists so harshly and directly, but because the left is also very questionable to him, and even his anti-fascism is questioned. The starting point for our work on this play was the question of what the left is today and what the right is... In this research work, we eventually came to the family relationships that are dominant in the play, and which actually push that fascism forward," Milićević stated.
She pointed out that the play is neither about Germany nor about Montenegro, but rather resists time constraints and becomes universal.
"The play was written about ten years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the context of the geopolitics of Europe and the world, that meant some social changes at the time that allowed him to talk about Germans. It seemed to us that it was somehow superfluous, considering that we live in the time of the European Union, we live in the time of the decentralization of Europe, and that is why the geographical prefix was not important to us. But yes, it is a collective disease of the soul, and I like to believe that Bernhard is referring to German philosophers who actually dealt with that soul in a specific way and who read it as political," Milićević stated.
All of this is wrapped up in the story of sisters Vera and Klara and their brother Rudolf, who are on polar opposite ideological spectrums, CNP reminds us.
"The actors, with their exceptional acting, convey the discomfort of empty lives and personal frustrations that lead to conflicts, cruelty, lack of love and empathy. They interpret their roles masterfully." Jelena V. Djukic, Dejan Ivanic i Mirjana Spaic", the announcement states.
Spaić, who plays Klara, said that it is only through the experience of acting that her character will gain fullness and complete her true form.
"What her message is somehow is that the youth will one day stand up and not let what is happening to them today happen to them. That's what she says to her brother at one point... Somehow, the world rests on the youth, it's not just a worn-out platitude, it's real. We are people, we are the youth who need to change things and recognize what is wrong in today's world, and here we are witnessing everything and anything right now, so I think that would be her message," Spaić said, adding that the fight requires great energy, despite everything.
She is the antithesis of Vera and Rudolf, who represent fascists and the extreme right. Describing Vera, Đukić stated that she is one of the most specific characters she has embodied.
"She is much more expressive, much more demanding in terms of speech and physical means, so this was a big challenge. The process of building the character was extremely fun for me, because I have the feeling that sometimes you have to play with the most serious topics. On the other hand, there is a huge responsibility when it comes to such a serious author, text and topic. Along with the responsibility, there must be that kind of fun so that we can look at things from a different angle, because otherwise we will not understand the characters we play. If we don't understand them, I don't believe that people will recognize who and what these people are like in the play and whether we have them in real life," Đukić told the media after the premiere.
Speaking about the topics the play deals with, she pointed out that it is a very layered drama, not a comedy, even though that term is in the subtitle.
"When people lose everything that makes a life full, they live in such a way that they struggle and find some glimmer of humanity in everything else. As in any good comedy, here too, you end up choking up when you realize that things are much more serious than they seem. Vera and Rudolf have attitudes that sound very familiar, which we have heard at home, on the street, at work. It is about how we label other people, marginalized groups, the institution of family, society, functions, classes... We talk about things lightly, and we do not realize that precisely in that speech and in everything we throw out through those words is woven a deep, hardened hatred of otherness," Đukić pointed out.
The adaptation and dramaturgy of the play is by Milana Matejić, who was also in charge of the assistant director's duties, is a set designer Ivanka Vana Prelevic, and costume designer Mia Đurović. The light design is signed Happy Milosevic, our design Filip Radevic, she is a proofreader Dubravka Drakić, and executive producer Nela Otašević.
A repeat performance of the play "Before Retirement, a Comedy about the Soul" is scheduled for tomorrow, February 13th at 20 pm on the "Studio" stage of the Montenegrin National Theater.
Bonus video:
