Rada Đuričin, one of the most respected Yugoslav and Serbian actresses and member of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre ensemble for many years, died today in Belgrade.
Radojka Rada Đuričin was born on 31st May, 1934 in Vršac where she attended primary and grammar school. In 1954 she became a student at the Academy for Theatre, Film, Radio and Television in Belgrade under the mentorship of professor Josip Kulundžić with a group of students that included Radmila Andrić, Nikola Simić, Ružica Sokić, Bata Živojinović… She graduated in acting in 1958 and the following year she also obtained a degree in Yugoslav literature from the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade.
Her first ever professional role was that of Anne Frank in the National Theatre in Belgrade production of The Diary of Anne Frank. She became a member of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre ensemble in 1958 where she remained until 1998.
She worked with some of our most renowned theatre directors such as Hugo Klajn, Mata Milošević, Bojan Stupica, Miroslav Belović, Branko Pleša, Dejan Mijač, Boro Drašković, Ljubiša Ristić, Milenko Maričić, Vida Ognjenović, Ljubomir Draškić, Jagoš Marković…
During her long career she appeared in productions by many other theatres such as the National Theatre in Belgrade, Atelje 212, Zvezdara Theare, KPGT, Bitef Theatre, Little Theatre Duško Radović, National Theatres in Niš and Užice, Madlenianum as well as many other smaller, independent theatres.
However, most of the productions Rada Đuričin was involved in, more than forty in total, were at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre where she was based. Some of these productions include The Sabine Women (1959) by Rastko Petrović, You Never Can Tell (1960) by George Bernard Shaw, A Gentle Creature by F.M. Dostoyevsky/Miss Julie (1961) by A. Strindberg, Doña Rosita or The Language of the Flowers (1962) by F. G. Lorca, Tartuffe (1964) by Molière, Dead Souls (1965) by N. V. Gogol, The Importance of Being Earnest (1966) by Oscar Wilde, Klara Dombrovska (1967) by J. Kolundžić, Juno and the Paycock (1968) by Sean O’Casey, When Pumpkins Blossomed (1969) by Dragoslav Mihailović, Coriolanus (1970) by B. Brecht based on the play by William Shakespeare, Crime and Punishment (1971) by F. M. Dostoyevsky, A Flea in Her Ear (1971) by Georges Feydeau, Wolves and Sheep (1974) by A. N. Ostrovsky, Vassa Zheleznova (1976) by Maxim Gorky, Fear of Flying (monodrama, adapted for the stage and directed by R. Đuričin, 1979) by Erica Jong, The Devil and the Good Lord (1979) by J. P. Sartre, Les Romantique (1980) by A. de Musset, End of the Weekend (1982) by Momo Kapor, Chi ruba un piede fortunato in amore (monodrama, 1982) by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, The Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu (1984) by Maurice Joly, Migrations (1986) by M. Crnjanski, Kollontaj (1987) by Agneta Pleijel, The Praise of Folly (1990) by Erasmus of Rotterdam, A Member of Parliament (1991) by Branislav Nušić, 011 (1991) by Momo Kapor, The Merry Wives of Windsor (1993) by William Shakespeare, Bartholomew Fair (1995) by Ben Johnson, Pavilions (2001) by Milena Marković, From the Heroic Life of the Bourgeois (2011) by Carl Sternheim, Right You Are (if you think so) (2017) by Luigi Pirandello…
Rada Đuričin was particularly passionate about creating productions involving monodramas or two-handers intended for smaller stages and she received many awards for her work in this field. Her productions of The Praise of Folly, 011, End of the Weekend, Fear of Flying have enjoyed more than five hundred performances all over former Yugoslavia but also abroad – in Europe, America and Australia.
Đuričin was in the cast of the almost mythical Yugoslav Drama Theatre production of Feydeau’s A Flea in Her Ear, directed by Ljubiša Ristić. She first appeared in the role of Raymonde Chandebise at the opening night back in 1971 and then repeated it nearly two thousand times over the next 40 years.
She became a recipient of many awards including the Golden Wreath at the Small Stages Festival in Sarajevo (1973), the Turkey Statuette at the Comedy Festival in Svetozarevo (1975), the Golden Necklace audience and jury award at the Festival of Monodrama and Pantomime in Zemun (1996), Best Actress award at the International Chamber Performances Festival based on Fedor Dostoyevsky’s work in Russia (2002), an award at the International Festival of Monodrama in Kyiv (2005), the monodrama award at the Golden Knight international festival in Minsk (2005) and Best Monodrama award at the International Festival of Monodrama in Riga (2007).
Rada Đuričin has appeared in a number of roles in other media, in nearly thirty feature films and around fifty television productions. She won the Debutante Award at the Film Festival in Pula in 1959 for her role in The Eight Door and won the best supporting actress award at the Film Festival in Niš in 1974 for her role in Parlog.
She was the recipient of the YDT Annual Award for her performance in the 1983 production of The End of the Weekend and of the Special YDT Annual Award for her adaptation of the text for the stage and her performance in the production of 011 (1992), The Golden Link award for her continued contribution to culture in the City of Belgrade (1998), Special Award for her contribution to the cultural development of the city of Vršac (2004), the Vuk Award for significant contribution to culture in Serbia and the Serbian cultural space (2007) as well as many other awards.
The Presidential Decree by the President of the Republic of Serbia in 2018 awarded Rada Đuričin a Gold medal for services to culture.
Rada Đuričin wrote and published two books – The Secret of the Black Arm: Diaries of an Actress (1999) and My Monodramas (2005). Her translation work includes Chi ruba un piede fortunato in amore (O ja sam vrlo, vrlo srećna) by Dario Fo and Franca Rame and Isidora by Martin Sherman. She also worked as a journalist and radio presenter for Radio Belgrade.
