With Laughter Between Scylla and Charybdis

Crises, recession, depression – whichever name we give to the world and local social declination – cannot be the reason for discourage and weariness. Because the crisis represents a chance or, as a poet once said, “where there is danger, there is also salvation”. If led by such understanding of ups and downs it will be easier for us to overcome this period of reduced fnances for social activities, culture, theater…

This summer we have found a way to come about with our opera-ballet program and create a valuable joint project – luxurious Carmina Burana. Joined, at the beginning of the theater season, by enchanting Bolero by Ravel, which has not been a part of our repertoire for a long time, attributes a new dimension to this year’s ballet premiere…

Guided by the same principle of rationalization, however never reducing the criteria of professionalism, we have included into the opera production international cooperations by presenting two pearls of classical opera. The Barber of Seville by Rossini performed in cooperation with Slovene National Theater Maribor and The Bartered Bride by Smetana co-produced with North Czech Theater living the same diffculties as we do, but also with a tradition covering more than hundred years.

Numerous and diverse drama premier productions make it diffcult to notice the clash of theater with fnancial shortage; there are world classics like Moliere, Shakespeare, Erasmus of Rotterdam, but also contemporary world and Croatian drama writing: Hubner, Bent, Kaštelan, Senker…

In between The School for Wives and Hamlet both The Praise and The Prank of Folly will ft in. Thus in one moment we shall despair together with Danish prince about meaning and order of things and universe, and then, in the next moment we shall cure ourselves even of the greatest problems of this world by laughter.

Let us all, dear Audience, laugh in this crisis’ face, together in theater, constructing a nicer and better world.

Theatre Manager
Milan Štrljić