The Lehman Trilogy
Podeli:
Stefano Massini / Ben Power
Igor Pavlović
Igor Pavlović
Dimitrije Petrović
Andreja Rondović
Zdenko Medveđ
Vladimir Zima
Marko Marosiuk
Cast
Vladimir Grbić
Igor Greksa
Miloš Macura
Production: National Theater Subotica, Serbia
Duration: 140 minutes, with break
Photography: Igor Preradović
A word from the director
The Lehman Trilogy is not merely an epic saga spanning more than 150 years of the Lehman family’s history; it is also a story about the broader context of global capitalism, whose foundations were laid through the cotton trade within the slave system of the American South. Commerce in New York, in the North, was complicit in a system built on exploitation and human suffering.
Slavery is not merely a historical phenomenon; it was a source of capital that helped generate the economic power of America as we know it today. The exploitation of enslaved people enabled the accumulation of wealth by a new elite of the time, including the Lehman family. Capitalism facilitated the rise of institutions such as the Wall Street stock exchange, which traded not only in goods, but also in human destinies. Although slavery was formally abolished after the Civil War, the capital that had entered the system went on to create banks, investment funds and freight companies that became the foundation of the American economy. But did slavery truly disappear with the Civil War, or did it simply transform? A system built on unjust foundations sought new slaves-workers who, in order to survive within it, had to labor under extremely difficult conditions. They were paid so little that they could not even afford the products whose creation they had helped create.
Today, in a world that appears more advanced and liberal, we are confronted with a new form of slavery – consumer dependency. What was once physical enslavement has become a sophisticated form of manipulation carried out through marketing and mass communication strategies. We are no longer merely consumers; we have become slaves to consumption, unconsciously driven by desires imposed upon us.
Our everyday reality is shaped by the idea of “freedom” through consumption, whereas we actually remain trapped in a constant pursuit of new products, new identities and eternal happiness within a system in which anything that is economically profitable is considered ethically acceptable.
Igor Pavlović
About the writer
Stefano Massini is an Italian writer, essayist and dramaturge.
He was born in Florence in 1975, where he studied literature at the University of Florence. He began his theatrical career at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Festival. He is best known for The Lehman Trilogy, which was staged in London and on Broadway to widespread critical acclaim and won the Tony Award for Best Play. The play also served as the basis for his novel Qualcosa sui Lehman, which received numerous awards. His second novel is titled L’interprete dei sogni.
His works have been staged in France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Greece, Canada, Argentina, Algeria, Peru, Mexico, South Korea, Russia and Hungary. He has received numerous awards, including The Premio Riccione “Pier Vittorio Tondelli” and The Premio Ubu”.
About the director
Igor Pavlović was born in Novi Sad in 1976. He graduated from the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Department of Acting in the Serbian Language, in the class of Professor Mihailo Janketić (1998-2002).
Since 2002, he has been employed at the National Theatre in Subotica, and since 2006 he has been a permanent member of the Drama Company of the Serbian National Theatre, where he has performed around sixty roles.
He is the founder of the theatre company ARTERIA, which has been active on the Novi Sad theatre scene since 2008. He translates dramatic texts from English and directs productions in professional theatres. He is also a permanent collaborator of the Bečej City Theatre, where he has worked with young actors at the Youth Drama Studio since 2009. At the studio, he has directed productions that have won more than 100 awards at festivals in Serbia and throughout the region. He has also collaborated with the Academy of Arts in Osijek on productions from its repertoire.
He explores various acting methods, including the techniques of Michael Chekhov and Sanford Meisner. He holds a Master’s degree in Multimedia Directing from the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, where he studied in the class of Professor Aleksandar Davić. Selected directing credits: The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow, at the Youth Theatre in Novi Sad; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, at the Serbian National Theatre (Master production); The Affair of Innocent Annabelle by Velimir Lukić, at the National Theatre in Niš; Family Stories by Biljana Srbljanović, at the Bečej Town Theatre; Two by Jim Cartwright, at the Bečej Town Theatre; The Reunification of the Two Koreas by Joël Pommerat, at the Serbian National Theatre; God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza, at the Kraljevo Theatre; The Complete History of Theatre (Abridged) by Mina Petrić, at the Bečej City Theatre; and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, at the National Theatre in Niš.
He also directed and wrote the screenplay for the animated film Step, while the animated film Moustache is currently in development.
