Rehearsals began today at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre for a new production under the name of Zagreb – Belgrade via Sarajevo by Jelica Zupanc, adapted and directed by Gorčin Stojanović. Costume design by Lana Cvijanović, set design by Gorčin Stojanović, music composed by Anja Đorđević with Ljiljana Mrkić Popović in charge of speech coaching.
In this play by Jelica Zupanc we follow Ivo Andrić and Miloš Crnjanski on an imaginary journey from Zagreb to Belgrade. Shortly after the end of the First World War in which Crnjanski fought on the side of Austria-Hungary, and Andrić was imprisoned in Maribor as one of the suspects in the Sarajevo assassination, the two meet in Zagreb at the moment when the Southern Slavonic people decide to live together in one country called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Strongly influenced by the pressures and euphoria of a victory and a defeat, the disappearance of a number of countries and creation of several ones, breaking away from the past and embarking on something entirely new, this journey in 1919 takes us on an emotional and intellectual journey through the lives of these two young authors who discuss a number of interesting issues – questioning what has been and anticipating what is still to come.
The cast of Zagreb – Belgrade via Sarajevo includes Aleksej Bjelogrlić (Andrić), Miodrag Dragičević (Crnjanski), Marko Janketić, Nebojša Milovanović, Nikolina Vujević and Joakim Tasić.
The production of Zagreb – Belgrade via Sarajevo at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre marks 60th anniversary of the year when Ivo Andrić became a Nobel laureate for literature (the ceremony took place in Stockholm on 10th December 1961 at the Concert Hall of the Swedish Royal Academy). Andrić served as president of the YDT Art Council from 1956 to 1965.
This production is financed from the City of Belgrade budget and co-financed from the state budget of the Republic of Serbia – Ministry of Culture and Information. The funds from the Ministry were awarded through an open Competition for projects in the field of theatrical creation in 2021.
