IN WHOSE NAME
drama
Aleksandar Mihailović
“In Whose Name” is a true and dramatic story about actors of the National Theatre who were executed after the liberation of Niš in 1944. In a warm and deeply human way, it speaks of the suffering of an ordinary person trying to survive amid sweeping social and political changes.
The timeless dilemma of choosing sides, as well as the artist’s freedom to fight through art and for art in turbulent times, is a theme that strongly resonates with the world we live in today, portraying a pattern through which changes in this region have been imposed for more than half a century.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Aleksandar Mihailović was born in 1972 in Niš, where he graduated from the Secondary School of Acting in 1991, in the class of Miroslava Vuković-Kurić. He graduated in Acting from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Priština, in the class of Professor Božidar Dimitrijević.
Since 1997, he has been a member of the ensemble of the National Theatre in Niš, where he continues to work today. From 2009 to 2013, he served as Artistic Director of the Academic Theatre of the Student Cultural Centre (SKC) in Niš.
He has performed more than 70 roles on the stage of the National Theatre in Niš, as well as on the stages of theatres in Zaječar, Priština, Kragujevac, Kruševac, Pirot, Leskovac and elsewhere. He has appeared in around ten films and television dramas. He has received awards for some of these roles at more than 15 festivals in Serbia and abroad.
He has directed four theatre productions. He is the author of five plays: The Right Word Has Not Yet Been Born (2014), Ad Libitum (2015), Easter on Moglen (2015), In Whose Name (2016), and Happy New Year (2017).
THE PLAYWRIGHT’S NOTE
When the waves of history stir up the sediment of a society, when that mud clouds the view of truth and goodness, when an age arrives in which there are no longer any pure, innocent, faithful or merciful people, when the shadows into which the ordinary person so desperately longs to retreat disappear, who is there to tell the victors that, in his name, they have no right to shed even a drop of the blood of the defeated?
That is why this play exists, and that is why it is called In Whose Name.
DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY
Milan Karadžić (born in 1956 in Nikšić) graduated in Theatre Directing from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDU) in Belgrade in 1986, in the class of professors Miroslav Belović and Nikola Jevtić, with the production Don Juan at the Student Cultural Centre (SKC). He has been permanently employed as Artistic Director and Director at the “Boško Buha” Theatre.
At his home theatre, he has directed more than thirty productions for children, including Sleeping Beauty, The Emperor’s Champion, Vasilisa the Beautiful, Puss in Boots, The Snow Queen, The Three Musketeers, Beauty and the Beast, Shargor, Pinocchio, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Aladdin’s Magic Lamp, and many others, as well as the productions The Taming of the Shrew, Masters, Masters and The Honest Burglar on the evening stage.
He has directed at almost all major stages in Belgrade: at the “Pinocchio” Puppet Theatre (Baš Čelik), the National Theatre (Speech Impediment, Tears Are OK), Atelje 212 (Peg, My Heart, The Tour, Mixed Marriage, The Exhibitionist), the Belgrade Drama Theatre (The Rivals, Frederick, Sasha’s Villa, Transylvania, Harold and Maude), Zvezdara Theatre (Angela, Tre sorelle), and the Terazije Theatre (Paradox).
He has also directed at the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad (Pop Ćira and Pop Spira), the National Theatre in Niš (The Mourning Family, The Taming of the Shrew), the Montenegrin National Theatre (The School for Wives), the City Theatre in Podgorica (A Novel of Love, The Marriage of King Vukašin, Forever Yours, Love’s Labour’s Lost), the Cultural Centre in Tivat (Boka Trilogy – Boka D-moll, Inominato, Betula u malu valu), the Royal Theatre “Zetski dom” in Cetinje (The Wizard), as well as in theatres in Sombor, Vršac, Leskovac, Zaječar and elsewhere.
For television, he directed the series The Mourning Family (RTS, 1989), Mixed Marriage (2003–2007), The Prime Minister (2007), Money or Life (2009), which was later adapted into a feature film (TV Pink), Budva on the Foam of the Sea (TV Prva), and Neighbours (RTS).
He also directed the films Change Me (2007) and Gorčilo (2015).
He is the recipient of two Sterija Awards, the “Bojan Stupica” Award, the Ardalion Award for Directing at the Užice Festival, the “Gita Predić” Award for Directing at the “Boško Buha” Theatre, the “Joakim Vujić” Award, as well as several awards at festivals in Kotor, an award at the Vršac Festival, and others.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
This play attracted me because it treats, with artistic integrity and without ideological bias, the conflict between two worlds: the world of art, theatre and acting on one side, and the world of politics, ideology and the party on the other.
The world of politics and power may win the first battle, but it can never win the war against the world of art.
That, ultimately, is the message of this play.
When is this performance playing?
You can find all upcoming dates on the Repertoire page.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Genre
Drama
Running time
80 minutes
Age
14+
Premiere
November 29, 2017
Stage
Main Stage
CREATIVE TEAM
Text
Aleksandar Mihailović
Direction, text adaptation, music selection and conceptual set design
Milan Karadžić
Costume Design
Dragica Laušević
Language Editor
Nataša Ilić
Technical Set Design Realization
Ivana Savić
Production Coordinator
Marija Peternel
CHARACTERS
Dušan Cvetković – Čika Duca
MIROSLAV JOVIĆ
Miodrag Mija Kovačević
ALEKSANDAR MARINKOVIĆ
Julijana Julka Bukvić
SANJA KRSTOVIĆ
Živojin Žika Vučković
ALEKSANDAR MIHAILOVIĆ
Konstantin Bata Atanasijević
DEJAN CICMILOVIĆ
Nikola Pop
DANILO PETROVIĆ
Leposava Đorđević
JASMINА HODŽIĆ
Elka Petrović
NATAŠA STANKOVIĆ, guest
Žarko
MARKO PAVLOVSKI / STEFAN MLADENOVIĆ, guest
Vasa Smajević
MILOŠ CVETKOVIĆ
Mančić
MARJAN TODOROVIĆ
Jelena
KATARINA JELIČIĆ, guest
Actors of the Academic Theatre of the SKC Niš
Cultural Troupe
Miloš Unić, Jovan Petrović, Sofija Ristić, Barbara Savić, Milica Dimitrijević, Petar Ščepihin, Nemanja Dimitrijević, Nina Aritonović, Katarina Pešić, Nikolija Mičić, Jovana Živanović, Dušan Ščepihin, Stefan Nikolić, Anđela Stojiljković
Partisans
Nemanja Dimitrijević, Petar Ščepihin, Dušan Ščepihin, Stefan Nikolić
Town Musicians
Miloš Unić (violin), Jovan Petrović (accordion), Sofija Ristić (tambourine), Barbara Savić (tarabuka)
Roma
Miloš Unić, Jovan Petrović, Sofija Ristić, Barbara Savić, Milica Dimitrijević, Nemanja Dimitrijević, Petar Ščepihin, Nina Aritonović, Katarina Pešić, Nikolija Mičić, Jovana Živanović, Dušan Ščepihin, Stefan Nikolić, Anđela Stojiljković
Voice from the Megaphone
Velibor Petković
TECHNICAL CREW
Head of Technical Department
Ljubiša Živković
Stage Manager
Vladislav Đorđević
Prompter
Ozren Mitić
Sound Technician
Slobodan Ilić
Lighting
Nemanja Pavlović
Lighting Technicians
Dejan Cvetković, Dejan Mitić
Stagehand
Slaviša Filipović
Set Builders
Mića Lazarević, Radomir Pešić
Props
Dragan Nikolić
Wardrobe
Dušica Mladenović, Marko Dinić
Make-up and Wig Artists
Ljiljana Rašić, Marija Pešić, Ivana Lazarević
Tailoring
Marina Stevanović
Workshop
Bogoljub Đorđević, Goran Stanković, Dragan Perić, Branislav Nikolić
Procurement
Zoran Denčić
Driver
Nebojša Šarčević