On Thursday, 14 th May at 9pm JDPtv will be screening the première of A PROFITABLE POSITION by A. N. Ostrovsky, directed by Egon Savin, on our YouTube channel and our jdp.rs website. Further showings have been scheduled for Friday 15 th and Saturday 16 th May at 9pm and for Sunday 17 th May at 6pm and 9pm.
A. N. OSTROVSKY
A PROFITABLE POSITION
DIRECTED BY: EGON SAVIN
Duration: 1h 55’
A Profitable Position opened on the Ljuba Tadić stage of Yugoslav Drama Theatre on 7 th March, 2014. The cast included Nikola Rakočević, Predrag Ejdus, Jelisaveta Sablić, Branislav Lečić, Anđelika Simić, Jovana Gavrilović, Nebojša LJubišić, Srđan Timarov, Milena Živanović, Bogdan Diklić, Stefan Bundalo, Slobodan Tešić, Anđela Krvavac and Marko Ajvaz/Rade Stojiljković.
A Profitable Position is a comedy about powerful civil servants and nouveau riche Moscow merchants. In the words of Ostrovsky – they are not as uneducated as their fathers have been – on the contrary, they possess refined manners, pleasing looks, they visit exhibitions in Paris, drink champagne, read French newspapers, follow Europea fashions but none of it is a reflection of true sophistication but rather a form of mimicry. This pleasing appearance hides the same egotism, cruelty and narcissism of their ancestors. They are energetic, skilled, know how to turn a profit but it is all just another name for greed. They are cynical, sometimes even honest, but without any compassion or nobility. Their material wealth, made possible by rampant capitalism and corruption, makes them “power mad”.
In a community where corruption has become a social norm, and how to please your superiors more important than a degree, arranging a profitable position for oneself is a matter of survival.
This production of A Profitable Position won two Ardalion awards for direction and costume design at the Yugoslav Theatre Festival in Užice. In addition, it was performed at the Sterijino Pozorje theatre festival in Novi Sad where Srđan Timarov won the best actor award and Lana Cvijanović won the award for best costume design. Jelisaveta Sablić won an award for her portrayal of Felisata Gerasimovna Kukushkina at the Fadil Hadžić Days of Satire theatre festival in Zagreb. A Profitable Position was also performed to great acclaim at the international “Ostrovsky in the House of Ostrovsky” theatre festival at Maly Theatre in Moscow as well as at the Purgatorije Mediterranean Theatre Festival in Tivat.
Live streaming of this production was made possible by RTS who own the broadcasting rights.