IMPRESSUM CROATIAN THEATRE 1/2006 A publication on Croatian drama and theatre Publisher: Croatian Centre of ITI √ UNESCO For the Publisher: Æeljka TurËinoviÊ Address: BasariËekova 24, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia Tel. +385 1 4920 667; Fax. +385 1 4920 668 E-mail: [email protected] www.hciti.hr Editorial Board: Tajana GaπparoviÊ, Hrvoje IvankoviÊ, Æeljka TurËinoviÊ Art Director: Bernard BuniÊ Translated into English by: Katarina PejoviÊ English language editing: Susan Jakopec Design & Layout: Mirena »ale / AXIS-DESIGN d.o.o. Zagreb Print: DeVeDe Published with the support of: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia City Office of Education, Culture and Sport √ Department of Culture, Zagreb Front page: Jean Giraudoux, Ondine, Dubrovnik Summer Festival 2005 Photo by: Damil Kalogjera 1/2006 contents editorial Dear friends and colleagues, Before you is the first issue of the magazine Croatian Theatre, published by the Croatian Centre of ITI-UNESCO. This magazine is the successor of the bulletin Croatian Drama and Theatre that was published in Croatian and English from 1995 onward. Besides presenting the annual activities of the Croatian Centre of ITI-UNESCO, the bulletin was also featured new plays by our playwrights and served as a particular kind of database on Croatian the- Jasen Boko atre. As of this year, we have decided to publish the ITI bulletin in its Croatian version only, 4 PLAYWRIGHTS ∑ THE BEST THING IN CROATIAN THEATRE while its English equivalent will be substituted by this very magazine, the aim of which is to provide the international theatre community with a better insight into the current trends in contemporary Croatian drama and theatre. Tajana GaπparoviÊ RENE MEDVE©EK ∑ THE LITTLE PRINCE OF CROATIAN THEATRE In the introductory part of each issue of Croatian Theatre, we shall feature three texts: one 10 that will inform about the events of the past season in Croatian playhouses; a second one that will portray a contemporary director whose opus has the distinct traits of an author’s Hrvoje IvankoviÊ theatre; and a third one presenting a theatre house or a festival whose concept and pro- INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVALS IN CROATIA 14 gramming policy could be, in our view, representative and potentially interesting to the for- eign public. Given that this is the first issue of Croatian Theatre, this time we exceptionally Hrvo feature a text on the events from the past two seasons, while the portrait of the director 20 NEW CROATIAN PLAYS Rene Medveπek is made within the “conceptual” frame. The second part of Croatian Theatre will normally feature several Croatian dramatists with their more recent plays Hrvo that, due to their thematic and stylistic traits, we considerto be potentially interesting to INFO / ADRESSES theatres outside Croatia. In this issue we feature nine playwrights of the younger and mid- 60 dle generation: Elvis Boπnjak, Miro Gavran, Lada Kaπtelan, Mate MatiπiÊ, Dubravko MihanoviÊ, Nina MitroviÊ, Filip ©ovagoviÊ, Tena ©tiviËiÊ and Ivan VidiÊ. The third part of the magazine is reserved for the information on the activities of the Croatian Centre of ITI- UNESCO as well as a detailed list of all Croatian institutions, associations and centres whose work is partly or entirely connected to theatre. We cordially greet you with the twofold hope that you will learn more about Croatian the- atre and drama, and that, through this publication, Croatian theatre and dramatists will become more present and transparent on the international scene. Editorial Board 2 CROATIAN THEATRE 1/2006 3 Jasen Boko E. Rostand: Cyrano de Bergerac, directed by Zlatko Sviben, Croatian National Theatre in Osijek, 2005 PLAYWRIGHTS ∑THE BEST THING IN CROATIAN THEATRE In the past two years √ i.e. from the end of 2003 to the end house √ the Croatian National Theatre “Ivan The repertoires of Croatian theatres have little or no corre- defenders that result in numerous violent of 2005 √ several events that have essentially influenced Zajc” in Rijeka √ starring in the production of spondence at all with the painful reality of a country in tran- acts, as well as thousands of people being Croatian theatre might have significant consequences on Caroline of Rijeka. As Severina, a singer with sition at once struggling at the same time with the still vivid thrown out onto the streets from the reor- its further development. The fundamental problem that is no academic acting background, grew fond traumas of the Homeland War and the incursion of global ganisation of companies that were once in even now stirring up spirits is the Law on Theatre, which is of being on the stage, this was not to remain capital by which Croatia is sold off and which does not con- state and are today in private ownership, are supposed to bring liveliness and the fluctuation of artists to her sole appearance: an announcement was tain a trace of social awareness, having profit as its sole painful problems that are rarely seen on domestic stages, still petrified in the organisational sense made that she would star in one of the most interest. The post-traumatic stress disorders of former stage. Theatre is no longer the favourite within the frame of the old model. In a transition country significant roles of the Croatian theatre ravaged by cruel capitalism, the organisational structure of repertoire that has marked the careers of the Croatian theatre remains the last bastion of the Socialist greatest actresses of this country in the past type of preservation of workplaces. Once again, the Law fifty years: she would play the Baroness failed to reach its final shape as the dramatic artists cur- Castelli in Krleæa’s play The Glembays, once rently being on permanent payrolls in theatres showed again on the stage at the Rijeka CNT. As the no readiness in accepting the model by which they would whole story attracted media attention among have to abide to a mere one- or two-year contracts. Another other things thanks to the porn film of the problem is the clause in the Law proscribing control mech- singer that caused an uproar not only in anisms in theatres in the form of Managing Councils Croatia √ the interest on the part of the public appointed by the owners; since the owners of Croatian the- as well as the audience was extraordinary. In atres are City Municipalities, i.e. the presently ruling politi- this way the entertainment industry imposes cal parties, there is a looming possibility for the political itself as an entirely unsuitable model for manipulation of theatres. audience comeback to the theatres. While Croatian theatres have not managed to get rid of the political ballast even 15 years after the fall of Communism, For what is the most serious problem of a considerably more ominous threat comes from an entirely Croatian theatres in this period is that in 2005 different side. A sweeping popization of society along with a there was a nearly 10% drop in audience media that dictates superficial consumer trends and invents attendance. The figure of less than a million new stars whose only merit is, for instance, enduring two and a half spectators in Croatian theatres is months without doing anything in the phenomenon called even more worrying as it comes after several Big Brother, has also penetrated the theatre. Thus the subsequent years of attendance growth. event that drew the greatest attention of both the media I doubt that the Law on Theatre and pop and theatre people and created the biggest uproar, was the appearances on Croatian stages will bring theatre debut of the singer Severina VuËkoviÊ, the popular salvation to domestic theatre; its problems star of Croatian easy-listening music, in a national theatre are, after all, of a somewhat different nature. 4 CROATIAN THEATRE 1/2006 5 F. Ebb √ B. Fosse √ J. Kander: Chicago, directed by Dora Ruædjak Podolski, Comedy Theatre Zagreb, 2004 escapist activity; entire TV programmes of private TV sta- runs of new texts by mostly young authors tions are dedicated to this task √ escape from reality. including Elvis Boπnjak, Ivana Sajko, Filip ©ovagoviÊ, Dora Delbianco, Arijana »ulina, Yet the situation is nevertheless improving repertoire-wise, whereas the adaptations of novels by Renato as more than half of the first-runs in 29 professional the- BaretiÊ and Ante TomiÊ, the most popular atres for adults and 13 children’s theatres are based on names of domestic prose literature, gained domestic texts; furthermore, the end of this period reveals significant popularity. Nevertheless, a large texts that are increasingly dealing with our reality. I use the part of the repertoires of national houses still term domestic texts instead of plays as I find it important to consists of texts that have little to do with emphasise that the sources are not necessarily of dramatic contemporaneity. In this period, several the- provenience. Almost one half of the domestic texts are, atres have had new General Managers, each namely, either an adaptation of prose or derived out of the replacement causing political debates and production working process, improvisation and play. thus revealing over and over again the odd Croatia remains one of the few countries in the world where relation between politics and culture in national theatres (as many as four theatres bear the title of Croatia. National Theatre; besides Zagreb, they are located in And while Croatian playhouses still experi- Croatia’s largest cities Split, Rijeka and Osijek) have one ence a great lack of high-quality directors √ stage but as many as three ensembles: Opera, Drama and there were almost no new names worth Ballet, which makes the work significantly more difficult. mentioning √ playwrights, especially those of The past period has also brought some precedents: for the the younger generation, represent a signifi- first time, the General Manager of the central national cantly stronger segment of Croatian theatre.