The jury of the Purgatorije Mediterranean Theatre Festival in Tivat, comprised of Ljiljana Blagojević (actress from Serbia – jury president), Željka Turčinović (dramaturgue from Croatia – jury member) and Zoran Rakočević (theatre director from Montenegro – jury member), were unanimous in awarding the best production of the festival award to Oedipus, based on Sophocles, directed by Vito Taufer. The jury statement read as follows: This production is an extraordinary and important example of reinterpreting a renowned work from the corpus of Greek Tragedy, infusing it with new connotations without losing sight of its primary goal reflected in the tragic fate of the lead character who unknowingly enters an incestuous relationship with his own mother. In addition to personal tragedy and his terrifying downfall, this production seeks to discover the truth, regardless of how harrowing it may be, but simultaneously holds up a mirror to society and its relationship with democracy and government. The metaphor of a tavern becomes a metaphor for a society where the search for truth turns into a tragedy of an individual but also of the society as a whole.
The jury was likewise unanimous in presenting Milan Marić with the best actor award for his portrayal of Oedipus in the same production. The jury said: Milan Marić’s Oedpus is a product of incredible energy, combined with extraordinary charisma of a mature actor in spite of his relatively tender age for an actor. His Oedipus brims with emotional charge, he is tense and impressive. Marić’s portrayal is well thought out, volcanic, old-style and modern at the same time. He is in full control of both his thoughts and the words he utters which is one of the main tasks for actors appearing in Greek Tragedy.
His Oedipus is at home in a tavern, accompanied by the sounds of turbo-folk, something very daring but also very true of our times. Marić’s Oedipus shows us that people and times do not change, after all. The mechanics of power which pushes individuals to bring havoc and utter disaster on their own people, all for the sake of power. And, Lo and Behold! the same has been happening for the last two thousand years. Marić’s Oedipus is good looking, modern, sharp, arrogant, power hungry, haughty, prepared to remove any obstacle in his path, all in order to achieve absolute power.
He is nobly articulated, clear of thought, well executed and precise. He is true. Recognisable. Modern. And he avoids references to modern day politics, a trap that many actors would be hard put to avoid. The award has landed in the right hands.