Award winners at the 3rd Theatre at the crossroads Festival

The third Theatre Festival of the Balkan cultural space, Theatre at the crossroads, being held again this year in the National Theater in Niš, in an outstanding circumstances time frame – from September 5 till 12, 2022, has reached the closing with tonight’s award ceremony and performance in honour of the Awardees – IN THE JAWS OF LIFE, based on the novel by Dubravka Ugrešic and directed by Andrei Nosov, performed by the Belgrade Drama Theater and BeoArt.

Within the Festival competition program, the audience had the opportunity to see 6 performances:

CROATIAN WAY TO HAPPINESS, authorial project by Boba Jelčić, Kerempuh Satirical Theater, Zagreb, Croatia;

August Strindberg, MISS JULIE, directed by Haris Pašović, Opera and Theater Madlenijanum, Belgrade, Serbia ;

Elfriede Jelinek, RECHNITZ – ANGEL OF DESTRUCTION, directed by Sabina Mitterecker, the Sarajevo War Theater SARTR and the Croatian National Theater in Mostar, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Johannes von Tepl, THE PLOWMAN AND DEATH, directed by Silviu Purcărete, Vasile Alecsandri National Theater, Iaşi, Romania;

MY NAME IS GORAN STEFANOVSKI, directed by Branislav Mićunović, NI Drama Theater Skopje, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia;

WANTON LADY KNIGHTS, authorial project by András Urbán, Dezső Kosztolányi Theater, Subotica, Serbia.

 

Decisions on awards have been made by the Festival’s Professional Jury, the Critics Round Table Jury and the Journalists Jury.

The Professional Jury composed of: President Vasil Vasilev, director and manager of the National Theater Ivan Vazov in Sofia, prof. Nenad Novaković, PhD, expert in electronic media and management in Culture, prof. Žanina Mirčevska, MA, dramaturge, dramatist and professor Academy of Theater, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana – UL ATRFT Slovenia, Tatjana Radišić, costume designer and Dušan Kovačević, actor and artistic director of the PI Municipal Theater in Podgorica, has reached the following decision:

 

THE PROFESSIONAL JURY JUSTIFICATION STATEMENT

The award for the best performance/play is presented to the play PLOUGHMAN AND DEATH, Johannes von Tepl, Silviu Purcărete, Vasile Alecsandri National Theater, Iaşi, Romania.

The disputation between the Ploughman and Death, at a first glance in the form of “monodrama” in the chamber space, is in fact a true theatrical spectacle that, within the infinitely rich sign system and perfection of all stage elements, represents a visual theatrical essay about the man and death, as the absolute of all truths.

 

The award for directing is presented to BRANISLAV MIĆUNOVIĆ for the play MY NAME IS GORAN STEFANOVSKI, Drama Theater Skopje.

Dealing with the complicated material made up of the compilations of works by Goran Stefanovski, the director courageously tackles all the dramaturgical and stage challenges and in his own way, in the original director’s manuscript, he consistently implements the idea of man’s struggle in this region and his escape from it, with the help of outstanding stage and acting solutions.

 

The awards for acting achievements:

The award for best female role performance is presented to SELMA ALISPAHIĆ in the play ANGEL OF DESTRUCTION.

With reduced acting tools, precisely and consistently, Selma presented to the audience in a wonderful way a picture of the world that she represents, and the idea of the writer and director.

 

The award for best male role performance is presented to CĂLIN CHIRILĂ in the play PLOUGHMAN AND DEATH.

 

By playing in two media both on stage and in front of the camera Călin, by means of a precise choice of acting tools, solves the most difficult philosophical thesis of the actor himself, giving a hundred percent faith in not very easy stage action.

 

The award for best young actress is presented to ANDREA VEREBES, BLANKA HORVÁTH, DINA DEDOVIĆ TOMIĆ and TÍMEA FÜLÖP.

 

This award is presented equally to the female ensemble of the play WANTON LADY’S KNIGHTS for synchronized dance, precision in expression, as well as for dance and singing abilities, recommending these actresses of rich talent for great acting achievements.

 

The award for best young actor is presented to BORISZ KUCSOV, DÁVID BÚBOS and GÁBOR MÉSYZÁROS.

 

This award is presented equally to the male ensemble of the play WANTON LADY’S KNIGHTS for synchronized dance, precision in expression, as well as for dance and singing abilities, recommending these actors of rich talent for great acting achievements.

 

The award for stage design and visual dramaturgy is presented to DRAGOS BUHAGIAR and ANDREI COZLAC, for their video-design and visual dramaturgy in the play PLOUGHMAN AND DEATH by Johannes von Tepl, directed by Silviu Purcărete and produced by Vasile Alecsandri National Theater, Iaşi, Romania.

The entire visual expression and iconography is actually the essence of the dramaturgy Absolute technical perfection creates a sign network that is the very thought essence of this spectacle.

 

The award for costume design is presented to MARINA SREMAC for her contribution in the play WANTON LADY’S KNIGHTS.

Thoughtful, elegant and glamorous costumes consistently follow the dramaturgy and multitude of ideas in this multi-layered show.

 

The award for original stage music is presented to ÁRPÁD SZERDA for his contribution in the play WANTON LADY’S KNIGHTS.

Luxurious music that gives spectacularity to the performance itself, and for the purpose of stage expression and director’s idea, opens another dimension of the performance to the viewer.

 

The award for stage movement is presented to TÍMEA FÜLÖP for her contribution in the play WANTON LADY’S KNIGHTS.

The movement and choreography in this performance are set from the very signs, then the gentle modesty of the actors, to the most attractive dance and acrobatic movements and in many ways contribute to the splendor of the stage performance of the young ensemble.

 

The special award is presented for the concept of WANTON LADY’S KNIGHTS.

Director Urban, together with his team of authors, in a very intelligent way, by means of a huge dose of self-irony and emphasizing vulgarity to the point of absurdity, opens a large contemplating field on the subject of theatrical masturbation that, unfortunately we are increasingly surrounded by at present, and selflessly shares with us the desire for Renaissance Theatre, which we may possibly miss.

 

The Critics Round Table Jury consisting of: prof. Milivoje Mladjenović, PhD, Sombor, writer and theatrologist, Dejan Petković, PhD, theatrologist, Zorana Kralj, theatre producer, Nataša Gvozdenović, journalist and theatre critic, Sašo Ognenovski, PhD theatre critic, Olivera Milošević, journalist and theatrologist and Bojan Munjin, journalist and theatre critic, has reached the following decision:

The award of The Critics Round Table for the best play was given to The Drama Theatre Skopje, for the play MY NAME IS GORAN STEFANOVSKI.

 

Journalists Jury consisting of: President Miljana Nikolić – RTV Bellami, Tatjana Nježić –Blic and Sonja Todorović Šegrt – Radio Belgrade 2 has reached the following decision:

The award of the Journalists Jury for the best play is presented to Dezső Kosztolányi Theater for the performance of the play WANTON LADY KNIGHTS.

A praiseworthy performance whereby through lively singing and playfulness, actually echoes strong criticism, irony, self-irony, questioning; from artistic dilemmas as well as the role, place, position, social (in)responsibility of actors, i.e. artists, to the acute questions of political life… Lethal in Urban-manner and surprisingly cheerful.

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