The fact is that we live in a society where contact has been lost. All our connections are through the screen. Let this be the play after which we will return to the yard, to company and play, to those sincere, cheerful gatherings, to the spirit that we miss, said the actress. Marija Đuric at yesterday's press conference ahead of the premiere of the play "The Years of the Donkey".
Based on the novel's motifs Branko Ćopić, a new play by the Podgorica City Theatre, intended for ages 13 and up, will premiere tonight in the large hall of the Cultural and Information Center "Budo Tomović" at 20 p.m., with repeat performances on Saturday and Sunday at noon.
"The play was directed by a boy, gentle, open, confused, inexperienced, young, taken aback by the world that was increasingly squeezing him, a boy who socialized with children, who worked with them," the director himself said. Andrija Rasovic.
The dramatization is signed by Vuk Draganić, costumes Mia Đurović, scenography Smiljka Šeparović, music directed by Rašović, while the play stars: Luka Stankovic, Bozidar Zuber, Dejan Djonovic, Marija Djuric, Zoran Dragicevic, Zeljko Radunovic i Nevena Penava.
Rašović added that their "Donkey Years" is a tribute to lyrical creativity and what Branko Ćopić felt throughout his life, his feelings, but also the memory of Grmeč, of Zora, whom he never told that he loved her.
"Thus, with this play, we correct some historical, but above all personal injustices, precisely through that love, through words addressed to someone you love, through words addressed to yourself, but also to those who do injustice, through the message that it is not right for us to be deprived of our youth," emphasized the young director and shared his own guiding principle in staging the work.
"In this process, I returned to my Ćopić and some sincere experience of him, the Ćopić that I experienced at the moment when my mother read "The Adventures of Toše the Cat" to me. I was struck by the beauty of that expression, the simplicity, the emotions, the states, the events that this writer carried throughout his entire creative work. When we were discussing the selection of the play with the management, we agreed that it should be a reading, something intended for adolescents, in order to engage with that narrowly defined target group, which actually also makes up the characters of this novel because the heroes are at that age. It was difficult to figure out what was for that age, especially today, but that is precisely why I returned to myself, deprived of some loves as a teenager, faced with injustice, I tried to correct that here," said Rašović.
Acting Director of the City Theatre Ivona Covic Jacimovic, it is proud pointed out that "such a pure and open heart is the only window to a purer and better culture, to Montenegro and our future."
"We are in for a great performance, just like Andrija's speech: a pure, emotional, loving, open-hearted performance. I want to invite all people, regardless of age, to be open-hearted themselves, not to criticize our youth, but to support them," she said.
Čović Jaćimović discussed the support that young artists and creators receive from those they learn from. She recalled her beginnings, opportunities, meaningful words, and empowerment, and said that this is what is expected of professors and experienced colleagues, and invited all of them who are willing to attend rehearsals and provide constructive criticism to the young people.
"Being a professor is one of the greatest titles, because we educate some young people. Older people who look at young people in a negative context, full of judgment and criticism, by doing so speak the most about themselves because they are the ones who teach these young people. What are you and what are we teaching them, then? That is why I invite all professors with an open heart to come to our rehearsals, to learn and help young people, to be supportive," she said.
Radunović said that he feels happy because he is engaged in acting, and that it gives him great pleasure to meet young and wonderful people.
"I want to tell them to try to keep everything that adorns them and that they really have as long as possible and to introduce the other into their lives as little as possible. I want us all not to lose sight of where we are, who we are, what we are, I want us to continue to dream, to search for our own, better world, to maintain friendship, humanity, forgiveness. I am happy to be part of this great team and to be in those donkey years again," he said.
Playwright Draganić reminded that Branko Ćopić is, above all, a lyrical writer, and that the characters in his novels and stories are charged with emotions.
"Sadness and happiness and joy and everything that makes life what it is is bubbling in them. "Donkey Years" is a story about a rebellion that is realized primarily through poetry, through the lyrical. This dramatization goes into the entire field of Branko Ćopić's choruses, his leitmotifs dominated by poetry. Our hero carries Branko's outlines, he brings it lyrically in his interpretation and with the help of poetry he defeats all those levers that follow us since our youngest days. I think it is very important that this rebellion is realized with the help of poetry and lyrics. It is important to protest, it is also important to write poetry. As Ćopić says, reading is on the border between imagination and reality, and the donkey years are precisely that period in which we grow up. In this growing up, we choose whether to preserve the lyricism we had in childhood, the belief that the moon can be reached with our hands, that a wolf can be any color, whether to preserve those first songs and verses within ourselves, because, as Branko himself says, after each writing of a children's novel, he feels as if he is returning from some great celebration. We hope that we can provide that great celebration to the audience through this play, through what Andrija, I and the entire team have painstakingly sought throughout the process, and "I also believe that we have found the door to Ćopić," said Draganić.
Đonović added that the donkey years are synonymous with puberty, the time in which we learn and most often use words like "I don't want" and "I don't want", which he believes are of great importance.
"This play is about freedom and love, about the freedom to fall in love and return to those wonderful donkey years when we can say 'I don't want to' and 'I don't want to', because these are probably the most important things that everyone needs to learn, and children know them. This is an invitation to both young people and adults and the elderly, to return to the donkey years as much as we can and to encourage that kind of fantasy that encourages you to think differently," said Đonović.
Đurić confirmed that we have forgotten to say both "no" and "I won't", and the reason, she believes, is the lack of rules of the game in the society in which we live.
"In order to set these rules, we need to have good leaders, educated ones, who know that we are all equally important and that we should strive for unity. In this play, a true leader is involved, that is Branko Ćopić, who, with his education and knowledge and strength and courage, is there to separate the group, and then to unite it and make it better, more progressive, a group that lives its freedom and strives for a healthier and better life," she said.
Young actor Stanković added that the complicated times we live in are all the more reason to "try to return to simplicity and show that poetic is not the same as pathetic."
"This is a play about love, friendship, courage, and rebellion, which is one of the main themes. What is important is that our heroes mature and become adults through all of these things," said Dragićević, and Penava said:
"Just as I fell in love with this story and this text, I truly believe that the audience will also fall in love with the play they are about to experience."
Where is Socrates?
What is the position of young people in Montenegrin society, how do the elders perceive them, how much do they support or encourage them, and on the other hand, what do they expect from them, with what intentions do they criticize and condemn them? This is the question asked by "Vijesti" which opened up new topics at the press conference, and the answers came from more experienced members of the ensemble...
"That youth always brings something new and we older people, no matter how much experience we have, can always learn something from children... Children and young people give the most sincere flame to life, children do not know how to lie or hide emotions, they do not calculate situations, circumstances, feelings, they are simply direct. These young people who have been given their chance are also direct," said Čović Jaćimović.
Dejan Đonović, recognized as someone who is dedicated to working with children and youth, said that the answer to the question posed also contains political themes, from which there is often a deviation, but, he reminds us, everything is politics.
"Some think that only politicians have the right to think politically and destroy us to the end. No. My question would be: Where is our Socrates? How many decades have we not had a Socrates? Socrates was accused, convicted, killed, among other things, for educating the youth. Where is our Socrates to "corrupt" our youth? Where are our role models who are ready to sacrifice themselves and show the youth the right path? Yes, we need Socrates. Socrates advocated meritocracy, he was against democracy, that is, he believed that not everyone can decide everything... I know that democracy is difficult to achieve, but we cannot come close if we do not have a Socrates. We need to create one! We must not allow him/her to leave the country. We must keep him/her and support him/her so that there are as many of them as possible, then it will be better," said Đonović.
Radunović referred to this by supporting the initiative for deputies in the Parliament of Montenegro to receive advisors - one for each, paid with citizens' money, and preferably from the field of psychology...
"Someone should make politicians, MPs aware of who they are and what they are, where they are and why they are there, why they do what they do. They need to be made aware of how to think, and then everything will be fine, and we will achieve development, biodiversity and culture."
Love is the foundation for a better society
Marija Đurić pointed out that the world is not strictly divided, including people, into adults and young people.
"When do we consider or call someone an adult? Is age a criterion? I believe that many remain children forever and that the most important thing is how we feel. We all need each other, both young and old," she said.
Đonović added that the play itself speaks about this, emphasizing that only love is needed to make people and the world better.
"If you only have love for yourself, then it is not love, but self-love, selfishness. Love is shared and given. When we start giving it to each other, exchanging it, we will have the foundations to create a more just and better country. Love is the only way to stay healthy as a society," said Đonović.
Bonus video:
