Pegule
Podeli:
and costume design
Vito Taufer
Iztok Mlakar
music for the songs
Iztok Mlakar
Aleks Lovrič Petrič
Cast
Iztok Mlakar
Marjuta Slamič / Vesna Pernarčič
Ilija Ota
Urška Taufer
Peter Harl
Muzičari
David Šuligoj, Roman Kobal, Matjaž Švagelj
Production: Portorož Auditorium, Slovenia
Duration: 105 minuta
Photography: Portorož Auditorium
About the play
It was dark and stormy night… Era una notte buia e tempestosa… C’etait une nuit sombre et orageouse… Es war eine dunkle und stürmische Nacht… In short: it was a dark and stormy night, like at the beginning of every crime novel in world literature, a story about people who found themselves on the wrong side of the law, a story of crimes and misdeeds.
Elvira and Ugo are a poor married couple forced to live on the streets. During a terrible winter storm, they find shelter in a wealthy man’s villa, which the owner had obviously abandoned in a panic. As befits reasonable people in trouble, they first confront matters of life and death, and then suddenly the doorbell rings. All the crime and malice of this world descend upon Elvira and Ugo.
About the writer
Iztok Mlakar (1961, Postojna) is one of the most recognizable and unique Slovenian theatre artists, known as an exceptional actor, singer-songwriter, dramaturge, and satirical poet. After graduating in acting from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana in 1986, he became an actor at the SNT Nova Gorica, where he still works to this day.
Mlakar’s creative expression is based on chansons, which he performs in coastal dialects – using them to paint the everyday life of the “little man” with a great deal of warmth, irony, and wisdom. His chansons are simultaneously theatre, poetry, and social commentary, often intertwined with elements of commedia dell’arte, pantomime, and cabaret. In the theatre, he has also established himself as an author of theatrical performances, where he writes the texts, composes the music, and often performs himself. His most significant performances (as author and performer-actor) include: Duohtar pod mus! (A Duo under Pressure!) from 2007, Sljehrnik (Everyman) from 2011, Strast (Passion) from 2015, and the comedy Pegule (Jinx) from 2024.
Iztok Mlakar is more than an actor or a singer – he is the voice of the common man, a poet of satirical truths, and a master of the stage, addressing all generations with humor and profundity. Due to his authenticity and critical view of society, he is considered one of the most original contemporary Slovenian artists.
About the director
Vito Taufer (1956, Ljubljana) is a Slovenian director and one of the most acclaimed directors from the former Yugoslavia. He graduated in directing from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana in 1985, after which he began working at the Slovenian Youth Theatre (Slovensko mladinsko gledališče). He has directed more than 90 dramas, nine operas, and one feature film. In addition to directing, he also creates set designs, costume designs, and theatre music.
At the beginning of his career, he was often called the “Little Prince of Yugoslav Theatre,” and today he is recognized as an artist who pushes the aesthetic and formal boundaries of theatre, one of the most interesting directors in the region. The performances he has directed have been staged in theatres and at festivals throughout the former Yugoslavia and Europe. He is the recipient of a great number of the most significant theatre awards and recognitions – several Borštnik Awards, a Sterija Award, several awards from the MESS festival in Sarajevo, the “Marul” Award at the Marulić Days,the Prešeren Award, and a Special Award at BITEF.
