Hero of the Nation
Podeli:
Ivan V. Lalić
Milan Nešković
Vesna Sušić
Margareta Šobot
Autogeni trening / Azilanti
Cast
Vladan Gajović
Biljana Keskenović
Stevan Vuković
Maja Stojanović
Ljubomir Bandović / Nikola Vasiljević
Đoko Mešter
Production: Nikšić Theatre, Montenegro
Duration: 100 minutes
Photography: Luka Zeković
About the play
The fate of the play Hero of the Nation is rather strange. Written about twenty years ago, with each passing day, month, and year, it is unexpectedly growing younger and more relevant. I believe its freshness is directly tied to the growing universal informational aggression that directly threatens to erase the tiny, thin line between our lives and the virtual truths the media feeds us. It is as if we are inexorably moving towards a situation where the boundary between OFF and ONLINE life no longer exists. Eventually, we will all become actors in a global reality show.
Hero of the Nation is not just an absurdist comedy; it is, above all, a family drama, where generational differences set up both the plot and the resolution – and a sad and cautionary ending. I am convinced that this successfully mastered genre dichotomy will largely determine the success of the performance. Knowing the authorial signature of Milan Nešković, I have no doubt that a complex and challenging theatrical piece awaits us, which I eagerly anticipate.
Ivan M. Lalić, Writer
About the writer
Ivan M. Lalić was born in Belgrade in 1965. He graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, at the Department of Dramaturgy. He has authored a large number of award-winning plays and television productions. His plays have been performed on many stages in the country and the region. Puritan Comedy, In the Flame of Passion, Cuba Libre, Hero of the Nation, Love in Savamala, and The Servant are his most famous theatre dramas. For the play In the Flames of Passion, he received the “Branislav Nušić” Award for the best comedy text. For the plays Hero of the Nation and Love in Savamala, he is a two-time winner of the Award for the best comedy text at the “Days of Comedy” Festival in Jagodina. He was the General Manager of the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad, the Artistic Director of Sterijino Pozorje, the president of the Board of Directors of the Exit Festival, and is a co-founder of the Cinema City company. He lives and works in Belgrade.
About the director
Milan Nešković was born in Valjevo in 1985. He graduated in theatre directing from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, under professors Nikola Jevtić and Alisa Stojanović. He is also involved in pedagogical work as an associate professor at the Academy of Arts in Belgrade. He has received multiple awards for his theatrical work, and not only theatrical, as he has been active in various fields of culture in the region for more than a decade. This is his first foray into directing at Nikšić Theatre.
