Literary programme
On Saturday,July 6th, literary programme of the “Theatre City” festival is to start at the “Poets’ Square” at 9PM. This time, the “Poets’ Square” will host Slobodan Šnajder, a novel writer and playwright and the winner of the “Stefan Mitrov Ljubiša” Award for the year 2022/2023. A panel of judges consisting of: Velimir Visković (literary critic and lexicographer), Dr. Dragana Kujović (scientific counselor) and Dr. Saša Radojčić (writer and professor) are to present an award to him. They will point out to new currents in poetics, not just in Šnajder’s prose but the playwriting in general.
“With his multifaceted and rich literary canon as well as his overall literary and intellectual endeavors, Šnajder left a prominent mark not just on the Croatian culture but on the culture of the whole of the former Yugoslavia’s region. Therefore, we are of the opinion that the “Stefan Mitrov Ljubiša” Award definitely went to the right hands”-the panel stated when explaining the reasons behind their decision.
Slobodan Šnajder (born in Zagreb on July,8,1948), is a renowned, internationally accomplished Croatian playwright, prosaist, theorist and publicist. He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy, Zagreb and that in Philosophy and English language, literature and culture. He was the co-founder and editor of the “Prolog” magazine, the special focus of which is the theatre and playwriting in general and also the editor of the “Cekada” publishing company edition (The Centre for the Cultural Contribution of the Young, Zagreb). He was a columnist for the “Glas Slavonije” News Broadcast (Reader for Melancholics) from January till June, 1993 and after that held the position at “Novi List” from Rijeka (Dangerous Liaisons) from 1994 to 2013. He was the director of the Zagreb Youth Theatre from 2001 until 2004 and is a frequent collaborator of the Croatian radio frequency’s third programme.
His successful playwriting career started early on. In 1969,Dino Radojević, a renowned director, presented Šnajder’s debut play Minigolf to the audience at the “Gavella” Drama Theatre. However, he established his position as a successful playwright in the mid seventies, with a string of plays based on the biographies of the well-known persons from the area of arts and politics. From this selection, Kamov, smrtopis (Kamov, the Necrography) and Hrvatski Faust (Croatian Faust) were the greatest success.
The selection of political columns he wrote for “Novi List” from Rijeka from 1994 till 1999, he has published in his books Cardinal Mistake and To Die Under the Star. For the past fifteen years, short forms of writing, like Knjiga o sitnom and 505 sa crtom, were the markings of Šnajder’s prose.
His first novel,however, didn’t come into being before 2012. It is named Morendo, and the plot is a kind of a sophisticated mix of mythology and contemporary life. It was followed by his second novel Doba mjedi. Taking as a foundation the theme of family life intricacies, or to be specific the turbulent life of Šnajder’s family, it soon captured the attention of everyone and was translated into 13 world languages until today. In January,2010, his dark comedy Encyclopedia of the Wasted Time was recognized as the best text for the play based on the life and works of Danilo Kiš. This all ensued from the competition organized by the Montenegrin Royal Theatre-“Zetski dom” Cetinje, involving all of the former Yugoslav region.
He has won the “Gavella” award for drama works (SFRJ) and the “Držić” award three times. Furthermore, he was the recepient of the regional “Meša Selimović” award (Tuzla) for his novel Doba mjedi in 2016.
He was awarded an honorary doctorate at the Faculty of Audiovisual Arts (ESRA), seated in Skoplje (Makedonija).
The guest for the evening is to be Bora Babić, the director and editor-in-chief of the “Akademska knjiga” publishing company. The moderator of the literary programme is Dr.Vladislava Gordić Petković-professor, historian, literary theorist, literary critic and translator.
Theater Programme
At the same time,starting at 9PM, in the venue Between Churches, one will have a chance to see the first rerun of the play Nadpop Kojović. It is the co-production of: The “Theatre City” Budva and The City Theatre Podgorica. The play was directed by Vida Ognjenović. Once again she,commissioned by the “Theatre City”, has taken on the task of writing about one of the distinguished historical figures from Budva. Therefore, the play about the literary canon and life of Antun Kojović, a symbol of Budva’s culture as well as everyday life at the time, came to be. With this project, the “Theatre City” continues its long-term goal of nurturing the local cultural heritage, while at the same time exploring the possibility of its implementation into contemporary theatrical forms.
Vida Ognjenović points out that the following were her reasons for writing this play: “In his journals, Antun Kojović sheds light on the peculiarities of his time, his contemporaries as well as the neighboring countries and Europe, in a brilliant way. His wish to be well-informed, and up to date with the happenings that brought great change at the end of the 18th century is fascinating. His viewpoints and original thoughts that greatly surpass his time are to be admired. He was a man who stood out from his surroundings in many respects, but was at the same time so devoted to it. The story of Kojović’s versatile personality speaks to the fact that the man of today-an inventor, becomes more and more of a slave to his inventions, and less and less of a humanist. The entertainment industry is in its full swing, without constraints and unprecedented, while the theatre, movie industry, literature and fine arts in general remain the only shelter from the attacks of banality, aggression and half-truths of various kinds present in today’s society.”
Besides the writer-director Vida Ognjenović, the authorial team comprises: Vladislava Cunnington (scenographer), Marija Pupučevska (costume design), Damjan Jovičin (composer), Sonja Vukičević (stage movement).
Cast: Nebojša Dugalić, Pavle Popović, Mišo Obradović, Pavle Ilić, Davor Dragojević, Danilo Čelebić, Vukan Pejović, Ognjen Sekulić, Branka Femić Šćekić, Vanja Jovićević, Lara Dragović, Mina Mićović, Itana Dragojević, Anđela Radović.
The project was supported by the Tourist Organization of Budva, through the “Competition for the Valorization of National Heritage” Projects for the year 2022.
The play is to be a part of the programme repertoire also on July,7th, Between Churches, beginning at 9 PM.
The “Theatre City” Press Office