SEEstage’s favourite theatre shows of 2024

As the year draws to a close, SEEstage’s writers across the region discuss the shows that made a lasting impression on them in 2024.

Rather than an attempt to select the ‘best’ shows of the past 12 months, our writers have chosen their personal favourites and the shows that have had the strongest impact on them.

Sex Education II: Fight (Mladinsko Theatre, Maska Ljubljana and City of Women)

Chosen by Nora Čulić Matošić

Honestly, my choice was a no brainer. This series of five lecture-performances draws attention to pressing issues that concern women reproductive health and safety in general. Such is the ever present topic of criminalisation of abortion and constant fight against it which is mainly discussed in the last part titled Fight, my personal favourite. However, other lectures bring attention to somewhat new and fresh questions of consent, vaginismus, sexual (dis)ability and other sexual practices that involve kinks. All of these lectures bring forward experiences many women share but rarely talk about them openly and are tightly connected with a feeling of shame. These kind of performances show that sexuality, relationship misconduct and reproductive health must be present in the public because, as we can see, staying silent resolves nothing. Combining documentary material like interviews and archive footages with a lot of symbolic non-verbal expression, the all women artistic team manages to easily communicate with the audience and point out the causes and effects of patriarchal system we live in. Even though it has number two in the name, for some this was the first proper encounter with the topics mentioned. Sex Education II should be appointed as part of school curriculums everywhere – there, I said it.

Read our review of Sex Education II

Symptoms (Atelje 212)

Chosen by Mina Milošević

An adaptation of the novel of the same name by Milica Sniva, directed by Iva Milošević, Symptoms addresses the sensitive topic of self-harm. It succeeds in bringing back hope in the very dark place of a broken life in a broken country. This story is about a 37-year-old woman, Sanja (Ana Mandić) “bed rotting” in the apartment of her aunt. Sanja is a former addict with serious childhood trauma, prone to self-harm. She’s also facing the death of her husband who cheated on her with a 25-year-old woman. Even though not much is spoken about politics, you can feel how the fall of Yugoslavia and the 90s and 2000s collective depression and poverty shaped the story. Even though mean voices in her head torture her (Branislav Trifunović, Jelena Stupljanin), they sometimes offer funny, sarcastic comments and different points of view. Eventually, Sanja finds meaning in life in her loving relationship with her demented aunt (Dara Džokić). This story addresses the theme of aging and becoming mature by accepting life and finding joy in it. This show and the unexpected humour in this tragedy can help one going through hard times. The sterile scenography of the apartment and green apples that once symbolized Sanja’s sterility and immaturity become symbols of warmth and home, like the voices in her head become funnier and less mean until they completely disappear, and this is what we remember this show has done – it tamed the scary space of the intrusive mind.

Read our review of Symptoms 

Before Sunset (Teatri Metropol)

Chosen by Belkisa Zhelegu

At times, I still think of the moment when Mathias Clausen rips his wife’s portrait with a knife—an act symbolizing his solemn desire to break free from his past and his own self. This production of the play Before Sunset by G. Hauptmann, directed by Andia Xhunga and Indrit Çobani left an indelible impression on me. It tackled family drama in such a raw and authentic way, portraying the complexities of human nature and exposing the relentless pursuit of selfish desires that makes us forget the true essence of love. It was a play that illustrated how love transcends age and circumstances, which also presents death, in its inevitability, as a form of liberation. The performances were exceptional, with each character so thoroughly internalized that the portrayal felt remarkably genuine and sincere. The rawness and honesty of the production resonated deeply with me, making it the most impactful performance I saw this year, one which had a lasting, transformative effect on my understanding of human relationships.

Read our review of Before Sunset

No One is Forgotten and We Remember Nothing (Atelje 212)

Chosen by Ana Ogrizović 

The show that left the biggest impact on me this year was No One is Forgotten and We Remember Nothing from Atelje 212. Based on the award-winning novel by Mirjana Drljević and directed by Bojana Lazić, this noir-esque mystery dissects the case of three missing teenage girls from Belgrade. What makes this story stand out from a large number of contemporary studies of post-Yugoslavian heritage is the female milieu, with all the mothers serving as storytellers. The playful childhood memories of the characters are constantly contrasted to the gloomy present, and this idea is supported through multimedia means throughout the performance. The show highlights how women, the mothers and daughters of today, are left to deal with the burdens of the past. Although I felt like many of the most impactful moments from the novel were left out, I appreciated the overall performance and the bittersweet emotions it evoked in me.

Read our review of No One is Forgotten and We Remember Nothing

Sex Education II: Fight (Mladinsko Theatre, Maska Ljubljana and City of Women)

Chosen by Karolina Bugajak

Community is, for me, one of the most important aspects of theatre. Tjaša Črnigoj’s project Sex Education II may have began in 2022, but new parts were
introduced later, including my favourite part what would become a five-part performance. Fight tells the story of the struggle of getting women’s reproductive rights in Slovenia and Yugoslavia. The performance highlights the topics of abortion, loneliness and domestic violence, and yet the director also creates a sense of solidarity and sisterhood. The site-specific approach to performance and the artistically engaging academic research used to create the show made it particularly powerful to me. The performance affirmatively showed a part of Slovenia’s history that its citizens can be proud of. The artists also managed to create an atmosphere that fostered a sense of community both on stage and in the audience. Tjaša Črnigoj creates theatre that feels like a hug while also highlighting crucial contemporary issues, which serves to make her work so memorable.

Read our review of Sex Education II

That Time We Got Lost (Kraljevo Theatre)

Chosen by Divna Stojanov

The play for teenagers That Time We Got Lost by Lotte Farup, directed by Damjan Kecojević and produced by Kraljevo Theatre, addresses the issues of divorce and parental alcoholism. The entire story is told from the perspective of siblings Tomas and Lina (the magical Aleksandra Arizanović and the excellent Vladimir Jovanović), whose parents get divorced (the fantastic duo Gorica Dinulović and Zoran Cerovina). Following the father’s departure from the family home, the family falls apart: the mother becomes depressed and turns to alcohol. The children take on adult roles, attempting to manage their and their parents’ emotions. At the end, the director and performers held a brief discussion with the audience to explore potential resolutions to the situation. They not only created a safe space but also fostered an environment where the audience’s voices and opinions were genuinely valued. The actors playing the children brought
youthful energy to their roles, while the serious dialogue remains deeply moving. In contrast, the parents’; performances are more restrained, conveying emotion through subtle verbal nuances. Discussing difficult experiences and addressing consequences we understand are not our fault strengthens us. The play That Time We Got Lost is a solid foundation for change.

The City of Lights (Theatre for Children Kragujevac)

Chosen by Andrej Canji

I don’t know if it happened all of a sudden or if I just wasn’t paying enough attention, but in Serbia some of the most beautiful, emotional and exciting performances are those for children and young adults. What is even more interesting is that many of them are not only aimed exclusively at a younger audience, but are particularly well tailored to an older audience, both thematically and formally. The City of Lights by the Theatre for Children Kragujevac, is the best example of this and a real discovery for me this year. The particular vision of Chilean artist David Zuazola, through the theatre of objects and in collaboration with the local community, creates a multi-layered and educational show about the spirit of the city of Kragujevac. The entertaining, detailed model of the city is made from recycled material. Famous buildings, remote-controlled ambulances and fire trucks, bottles, cans, streets, lights… come to life before our eyes and tell stories about the past and present as I have never seen before. This happens with the help of Lazar Novkov’s soulful music and the suggestive performance by Milica Redžić Vulević, Ljubica Radomirović and Aleksandar Petković. It is a feast for the imagination. It tells of the most beautiful splendour of a place –
the people who live there.

How I Learned to Drive (Heartefact)

Chosen by Natasha Tripney

Every performance in Heartefact’s home venue, an apartment in the centre of Belgrade, is intimate, but Tara Manić’s production of the 1997 play by Paula Vogel took this to another level. Vogel’s text explores the abusive relationship between a teenage girl and her uncle. Manić dispenses with a conventional stage and maximises the space’s potential for claustrophobia by seating the audience on all four sides of the space. The actors -Svetozar Cvetković and Marta Bogosavljević sit among us. They look us in the eye and address us directly, as close to us as if we were sharing a car together. Cvetković gives a career-high performance as the uncle, simultaneously charismatic, tragic and repellent – there are moments when you can see the tears sparkle in his eyes – while Bogosavljević more than matches him. It’s Manić’s concept that really elevates things though; by seating the audience in this way, by placing us as close to these characters as it’s possible to be, she exposes the levels of complicity and the structures – familial, societal – that allow such abuse to continue unchecked.

Read our review of How I Learned to Drive

1981 (Novi Sad Theatre/Újvidéki Színház)

Chosen by Borisav Matić

1981 from the Novi Sad Theatre is one of those magnificent, long (very long, it lasts 4 and a half hours!) but stirring, intimate and socially relevant performances that will stay in the audience’s memory for years to come. It is a brilliantly conceived (by director Tomi Janežič) and sensitively acted (by the theatre’s Hungarian ensemble and their Serbian guest-actor colleagues) multi-generational docu-fiction piece about a Hungarian-Serbian family in Novi Sad living through the time of the former Yugoslavia. Every aspect of the performance is strong and it sweeps you along.

Read our review of 1981

In an ordinary year it would have been my favourite performance of the year, without a doubt, however given performance theorist Richard Schechner has said that a performance is any act that at least one person performs for someone else, and as thus an integral part of life itself, I unashamedly declare the student-
led protests against the autocracy and corruption of the Serbian government as my favourite mass performative act of 2024.

The protests are a much-needed response to the recent social situation – after a part of the recently renovated Novi Sad train station collapsed and killed 15 people, the police and government-backed hooligans began terrorizing peaceful citizens on the streets who were revolting against the government’s corruption and incompetence. The students, demanding accountability for gross mismanagement and rampant violence, staged their protest marvellously in Serbia’s biggest cities, blockading and occupying their universities, organizing broader civil actions and giving the president Aleksandar Vučić a headache as he cannot discredit them by associating them with the compromised opposition. Gratifying as this is, the protests led by students go even further and achieve much more than this – they are infusing hope into a society where for too long it seemed that political change was not possible.