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Oct 10 / 8 pm / Princely Serbian Theatre

Production: Production: City Theatre "Semberija", Bijeljina and the National Theatre of the Republic of Srpska, Banja Luka / Republic of Srpska – Bosnia and Herzegovina

Duration: 110 min

Photography: Bojan Petričević – Four Pixel Studio Director’s foreword I have always thought about what it would look like if painters or musicians, in the catalogs of their exhibitions or concerts, wrote about what they wanted to say, or what we should pay attention to, or if, as if by chance, sent us a key for deciphering their works. And we theatre people have been nurturing that convention, wholeheartedly even, for decades. Anyone holding this program for two hours will watch (or at least start watching) a work about which over one thousand three hundred bibliographic units have been published, a dramatization that is celebrating half a century of existence this season, a dramatic work that has been directed in our language over fifty times by great directors and played by the greatest actors. On top of all that constellation of big and beautiful things regarding Hasanaginica, I was lucky enough to assemble a team of truly great collaborators. As expected, the genius Mara and the studious Zdenko, shine a light that becomes a full-fledged and powerful part of the sediment of Mara's idea. Marina and Jaca use their costumes to paint a picture of a world, a region that resembles the Mediterranean, and bring Hasanaginica to where it belongs, above and beyond us and our religions, nations and countries. Greksa rids the movement of all excesses and flailing, following the idea of pure composition of the graphics of each frame. Raco combines the scores of Vojvodina, Semberija, Šumadija and Republic of Srpka into a choir and searches for a melody of an Ijekavian world and an Ekavian template. Vlatko? Well, what can you expect from a theatre maestro, who on top of that has an uncle, father, mother and a brother who have bestowed their lives to the theatre. In his work he often takes a step back, not letting the music overshadow the actors. The actors? From the bottom of my heart, I wish to every director that in every performance the actors love every bit of the text so much, that they come to the first read-through so well-prepared, and then for two months improve day by day and always say that they can do even better. And I? I have added just a pinch of respect to everything, a spice that seems to me to be somewhat forgotten in our Theatre. A respect that is increasingly becoming an act of courage and modernity in this artistic age. Respect to the writer, respect to every character the writer wrote, respect to every actor and every member of the writing team. I have envisioned my job in such a way as to create the conditions for all of them to display their best selves on the way to the agreed goal. Because all the participants in this performance are excellent. For everything that doesn't seem that way to you, the burden falls solely on me. Dušan Tuzlančić

Great success of the City Theater "Semberija" - Phenomenon of Hasanaginica

It's been a long time since any theater performance has united the opinions of theater lovers in the way that Hasanaginica has done, co-produced by CT "Semberija" and the National Theater of the Republic of Srpska in Banjaluka. Since the autumn premiere, all performances so far in Bijeljina, Banja Luka and Novi Sad have always been accompanied by a full auditorium and several minutes of standing ovations from the audience. In this play based on the eponymous ballad, dramatized by academician Ljubomir Simović, three actors of the Serbian National Theater Novi Sad participate: Bojana Milanović, Sonja Damjanović and Milan Kovačević. The Bijeljina actors are Mihailo Maksimović, Dušan Ranković, Nenad Blagojević and Ivan Petrović, while Ljiljana Čekić, Goran Jokić and Ognjen Kopuz come from NT RS Banjaluka. The production idea itself and the two-year preparation period have left nothing to chance: Marija Kalabić, by far the most sought-after set designer in the region, was hired, the costumes were designed by the multi-awarded Marina Sremac and Jasmina Radujko, Igor Greksa did the stage movement, and the famous professor Radovan Knežević was the proofreader. The level of attention paid to the details is also shown by the hiring of the top expert lighting designer, Zdenko Medveđ. The engagement of Vlatko Stefanovski, who scored this peformance, surely adds another great and powerful artistic moment to it. And that's why the final product directed by Dušan Tuzlančić looks so simple, effortless and spotless. Everything is stripped of excess and anything that distracts from the essence. A classic, first-rate example of national dramaturgy, thoughtfully modernized, rid of any vulgarity, authorial self-love and exhibitionism, a not so rare phenomenon in contemporary theatre. Along with several great acting feats, the sense of measure is one of the greatest qualities of this performance. For two hours the sensual energy radiates, a powerful dance of love and pain which is almost palpable. The center of attention is the tragedy of a woman, but this play opens up some other very important questions: has it ever occurred to us that we should also hear Hasanaga's version of the event, and who is actually to blame, both for this and any other tragedy? The quality of this performance lies in the fact that on stage, in addition to the basic tragedy of the protagonist, we also see numerous personal tragedies of people "who are completely blameless." In Greek tragedies, the gods are usually the authors of tragedies, but in this Balkan tragedy, its participants are the cause. Mirjana Tomić source: https://noviglas.info/2023/02/28/veliki-uspjeh-gradskog-pozorista-semberija-fenomen-hasanaginice/