IN THE CLEARING
drama
Based on the stories by Stevan Sremac
The play “Na Čistini” by Svetislav Jovanov and Dušan Petrović is based on motifs from the prose of Stevan Sremac, primarily the stories Ibiš-aga, Prva žalost Pušina and Pazar za staro. The production reveals lesser-known works by Sremac to the audience and offers a new reading of his literary world.
The story is set in a forest on the night before Pentecost, at the beginning of the 20th century. Interweaving real and fantastical characters from Slavic mythology, the authors create a metaphorical story about the lives of actors, their constant struggle for survival, their unconditional dedication to art, and the eternal truth that behind material poverty there is often great spiritual wealth.
DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY
Dušan Petrović graduated in Theatre Directing from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade in 1992, where he soon began working as an assistant. He is currently a full professor at the Department of Theatre and Radio Directing.
Throughout his career, he has directed around forty productions in theatres across Serbia and the region, including in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Sombor, Subotica, Banja Luka and Zrenjanin. He served as Director of the Drama in the Serbian Language at the National Theatre in Subotica for four seasons, and as Director of the Drama Department of the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad for two seasons.
The production Na Čistini is his first directorial work at the National Theatre in Niš.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
The play Na Čistini was inspired by the prose of Stevan Sremac. Svetislav Jovanov and I found the inspiration for the main events of the production in the story The Travelling Company, which portrays the fate of travelling actors at the end of the 19th century, in a region that had only recently been liberated from centuries of Ottoman rule.
Their problems—from the constant struggle for survival to choosing a repertoire for audiences who greet them with reservation and distrust—seemed remarkably relevant to us today. In our production, the acting troupe overcomes its hardships by performing three of Sremac’s stories, each belonging to a different genre.
When is this performance playing?
You can find all upcoming dates on the Repertoire page.
BASIC INFORMATION
Genre
Drama
Age
14+
Premiere
January 31, 2017
Stage
Main Stage
CREATIVE TEAM
Director
Dušan Petrović
Text
Based on stories by Stevan Sremac
Set Design
Marija Kalabić
Costume Design
Dragica Laušević
Music
Stefan Ćirić
Photography
Nikola Milosavljević
Painting Works
Vladimir Krstić
Language Editor
Nataša Ilić
CAST
Blagoje, leader of the acting troupe
Aleksandar Marinković
Katarina, his wife
Sanja Krstović
Stojan, actor
Dejan Cicmilović
Dima, actor
Aleksandar Mihailović
Toša, actor
Miloš Đurović, guest
Milena, actress
Kristina Tomić, guest
Živa, peasant woman
Maja Vukojević Cvetković
Devana, peasant woman
Dragana Jovanović
Zora, peasant woman
Katarina Arsić
Misailo, sergeant
Aleksandar Krstić
Radoje, soldier
Miloš Cvetković
Gavrilo, soldier
Stefan Mladenović
TECHNICAL TEAM
Head of Technical Department
Ljubiša Živković
Stage Manager
Vladislav Đorđević
Prompter
Ozren Mitić
Sound Engineer
Hristo Zarkov
Lighting Design
Ivan Momčilović
Stage Technician
Slaviša Filipović
Set Crew
Dragan Dinić, Srđan Kitanović, Radovan Živković, Miodrag Đorđević, Rade Pešić, Marin Rajić
Props Crew
Dragan Nikolić, Marko Paulus
Wardrobe
Dušica Mladenović, Aleksandar Marjanović
Make-up and Wigs
Ljiljana Rašić, Marija Pešić
Tailoring
Vladimir Pekić, Marina Stevanović
Workshop
Bogoljub Đorđević, Goran Stanković, Dragan Perić, Branislav Nikolić
Procurement
Dobrica Marjanović, Zoran Denčić
Driver
Nebojša Šarčević