(Ages 12+)

Based on the short story by Laza K. Lazarević
Adaptation and Direction: Dušan Petrović
Set Design: Sofija Lučić
Costume Design: Jelena Vidović
Music: Petar Bilbija
Voice Coaching: Lidija Pajić
Lighting Design: Radomir Stamenković
Selection of Piano Pieces: Snježana Popović Vuleta
Language Consultant: Nataša Kecman
Stage Manager: Vesna Maksimović
Prompter: Svjetlana Vranjković

Cast

Miša Maričić: Branislav Aleksić*
Ana Gutjar: Dana Poletan
Paulina Gutjar: Miljka Brđanin
Evica Maričić: Belinda Stijak / Božana Kukilo
Nikolaj Ivanovič Tumanov: Bojan Kolopić
Klara Vedel: Anđela Rakočević**
Nikola: Senad Milanović
Max: Anando Čenić
Spalding: Boris Šavija
Pianist: Snježana Popović Vuleta***

* Fourth-year Acting student at the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka, studying under Professor Radoslav Milenković and teaching associate Nikolina Friganović.

** Final-year Acting student at the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka, studying under Professor Željko Mitrović.

*** Snježana Popović Vuleta, MA, is a Full Professor at the Department of Piano and Accordion, Academy of Arts in Banja Luka.

Running time: 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Director's Note

When I was not quite twelve years old, towards the end of 1979, I saw a production of Švabica by the National Theatre in Sombor, adapted and directed by Miloš Lazin. The performance made such a profound impression on me that I can still remember certain scenes to this day. Working on this production is, for me, a kind of journey back into the past, a search for answers to questions I did not understand then and, it seems to me, have not fully understood even later in life, despite all its challenges.

Why are we so willing to burden ourselves with responsibilities and obligations imposed by certain social constructs (social status, career, patriotism…) and, for their sake, sacrifice our personal happiness, or even love?

There is no single, simple answer to this question. Our production is an attempt to encourage reflection on this issue.