“The National Theatre of Republika Srpska and the National Theatre in Belgrade will perform the play ‘The Hilarious Tragedy’ by Dušan Kovačević, directed by Јagoš Marković, on December 3rd at the Akcent Theater stage in Vienna.
The play premiered in May this year and features performances by Nikolina Friganović, Željko Erkić, Petar Vasiljević, Nela Mihailović, Aleksandar Vučković, Sandra Bugarski, Branko Vidaković, and Ljubiša Savanović.
“‘The Hilarious Tragedy’ is a classic. I really love this play; it’s dense. Duško has ‘crafted’ something I’ve never encountered elsewhere – he combined the hilarious and the tragic. I’m so impressed by this combination of hilarity and tragedy that I’m not on familiar terms with this material; I’m highly motivated to respond to this piece. What is hilarious and tragic in this play? Everything. Not more, not less – everything. It’s an abundance, both in themes and recognitions. The focus of the play is the family. Because it’s a small world in itself. There you have society, individuals, all generations, and all times. Everything refracts through it. Everyone lives their reality. Even chooses it. That doesn’t mean there isn’t just one truth. But experiences, there are many,” said the late director Јagoš Marković ahead of the premiere.
Writer Dušan Kovačević also shared thoughts about the play:
“It is, fundamentally, even today, as it was when I wrote it more than three decades ago, a story about the destruction within a family. There’s a definition in which I deeply believe – that the family is something that is the epicenter of our lives and one of the most significant factors in our existence. Our children learn from the principles of family relationships. The family is the most important and essential school in a person’s life. The kind of family you grow up in, that’s the kind of person you’ll be,” emphasized Kovačević.”
