REPERTOIRE AND SELECTION OF THE 2nd “THEATER AT THE CROSSROADS”
Nis, March 11 -19, 2020.
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The 2nd Drama and Theater Festival of the Balkan Cultural Space “Theater at the Crossroads” will be officially opened on the National Theater Day, March 11, 2020, in Nis, with the premiere of the play “1789“, produced by the National Theater in Nis, outside the competition selection. The play is written and directed by Mirhad Hadi Kuric.
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The festival will be opened by Vasilka Bumbarova, a Bulgarian theatrologist.
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Selection of the 2nd Festival of Drama and Theater of the Balkan Cultural Space “Theater at the Crossroads” gathers performances based on the need to affirm high artistic values that are the result of permeation and interweaving of various influences and factors (sensibilities, directorial and acting poetics, views of the theater …) that make up specific Balkan melting pot:
- Albert Camus, Caligula, directed by Diana Dobreva, “Ivan Vazov” National Theatre, Sofia, Bulgaria.
- Euripides, The Bacchae, directed by Igor Vuk Torbica, National Theater Bitola, Bitola, Northern Macedonia;
- Luigi Pirandello, Man, Beast and Virtue, directed by Egon Savin, Theater of Comedy, Skopje, Northern Macedonia
- Author Project, Conversations About Love, directed by Jernej Lorenci, co-produced by the Royal Theatre Zetski dom, Cetinje, Montenegro and Drama of the Slovenian National Theater, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- F. M. Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (dramatization by Miroslav Belovic), directed by Dusan Petrovic, National Theatre of the Republic of Srpska, Banja Luka, the Republiic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Andrei Rozman Roza, Baal, based on the play of the same name by Bertold Brecht, directed by Vito Taufer, Mladinsko Theatre, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- Alfred de Musset, Lorenzaccio, directed by Boris Lijesevic, The Yugoslav Drama Theater, Belgrade, Serbia;
- Author project, The Recipe for Perfection in too Many Steps That Lead Nowhere, directed by Andrea Gavriliu, Northern Theatre Satu Mare – Mihai Raicu Company, Satu Mare, Romania.
Apart from the fact that all the offered performances represent remarkable artistic achievements, they are also a good example of interwining of differences that belong to the Balkan crossroads and, in particular, they open up the possibility of re-examining the relationship of the theaters from this region to the drama classics as well as to the essentially existential interpretation of the place of a human in contemporary social narratives and the consequences of their de/coding. Each play places a man confused with the gods, the authorities, the institutions of society, the norms of behavior, non/actions, love, revolution, freedom or the enslavement of thought and body, in the center of anxiety of the inhumanity of man himself. No matter how different theatrical manuscripts of the plays (from the physical theater from Romania, through the almost cabaret debauchery of Baal, the psychological appeasement of Pirandelli comedy, the research laboratory of Lorenci’s play and play of the theme of love in the Balkans, the realistic search for Dostoevsky’s hero, the polemical involvement of Lorenzaccio, the metatheatrical reading of Bacchae, and to the stage spectacle Caligula) everyone seems to be asking the same question: can people and their society survive on shabby, outdated ideals and values no one really believes in anymore? Moving with each of its elements through different layers of consciousness, subconscious and reality, through different associations, organizing characters and acting expressions across a range of thematic axes, the plays offered survive as an aggregate of potentially limitless and always new readings.
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Festival jury (Branislav Micunovic, director / Montenegro /, Mia Begovic, actress / Croatia /, Katarina Kocevska, actress / Northern Macedonia /, Bogdan Costea, actor / Romania /, Vlado Kerosevic, actor / Bosnia and Herzegovina /) will present awards for best performance, directing, four acting awards, production design award, costume design award, original stage music award, stage movement award, and a special festival award.
In addition to these, there will also be an award from the Critics Roundtable (moderators of conversations about the performances – Jelena Luzina, theatrologist / Northern Macedonia /, Olivera Milosevic theatrologist / Serbia /; Festival critics – Igor Buric, theater critic / Serbia /, Prof. Milivoje Mladenovic, PhD , theatrologist / Serbia /, Bojan Munjin, theater critic / Croatia /, Prof. Nenad Novakovic, PhD / Bosnia and Herzegovina /, Dejan Petkovic, theatrologist / Nis /, Vasilka Bumbarova, theatrologist / Bulgaria /, Claudio Grosa, theatrologist / Romania /, Tanja Mijovic, Philosopher and Cultural Scientist / Serbia /), as well as the award of the Journalists Jury (Borka Trebjesanin / Politika /, Tatiana Njezic / Blic / Miljana Nikolic / Bell Amie / Ljubomir Radanov / Kurir /, Lidija Georgijev / RTS /).
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In addition to the eight competing performances, a number of accompanying programmes will take place: book launches, panels, artist presentations and exhibitions.
NOTE:
The National Theater in Nis reserves the right to make changes.
March 12
“Ivan Vazov” National Theatre
Sofia, Bulgaria
CALIGULA
Written by Albert Camus
Directed by Diana Dobreva
March 13
National Theater Bitola
Bitola, Northern Macedonia
THE BACCHAE – BRIEF REVIEW OF THE BREAK UP
Based on the Euripides drama
Directed by Igor Vuk Torbica
March 14
Theater of Comedy
Skopje, Northern Macedonia
MAN, BEAST AND VIRTUE
Written by Luigi Pirandello
Directed by Egon Savin
March 15
Co-production of Slovenian National Theater and the Royal Theater Zetski dom
Ljubljana, Slovenia / Cetinje, Montenegro
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT LOVE
Written and directed by Jernej Lorenci
March 16
National Theatere of the Republic of Srpska
Banja Luka, the Republic of Srpska
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Written by F. M. Dostoevsky
Directed by: Dusan Petrovic
March 17
Mladinsko Theatre
Ljubljana, Slovenia
BAAL
Written by Andrei Rozman Roza
Directed by Vito Taufer
March 18
The Yugoslav Drama Theater
Belgrade, Serbia
LORENZACCIO
Written by Alfred de Mise
Directed by Boris Lijesevic
March 19
Northern Theatre Satu Mare – Mihai Raicu Company
Satu Mare, Romania
THE RECIPE FOR PERFECTION IN TOO MANY STEPS THAT LEAD NOWHERE
A physical theater by Andrea Gavriliu
Directed by Andrea Gavriliu