The programme has been announced for the 59th edition of the Festival Borštnikovo srečane.
The festival which showcases the best of Slovenian theatre will take place in Maribor between 3rd and 16th June. The competition programme consists of twelve productions selected by Blaž Lukan, who saw approximately 100 productions during 2023. Unusually the line up consists of two productions of Tony Kushner’s two-part gay epic Angels in America, directed by Ivica Buljan and Nina Rajić Kranjac.
The programme consists of Nina Ramšak Marković’s production of Elfriede Jelinek’s Women as Lovers, produced by Mladinsko Theatre; Dominik Smole’s Antigone, directed by Luka Marcen for the Slovene National Theatre Nova Gorica, Milan Ramšak Marković’s Rainy Day in Gurlitsch, directed by Sebastijan Horvat for the Prešeren Theatre Kranj and the Ljubljana City Theatre; Shelagh Stephenson’s Five Kinds of Silence directed by Maša Pelko for the Slovene National Theatre Nova Gorica.
Angels in America, Mladinsko Theatre
The festival also includes Tony Kushner’s Angels in America. A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. Part I: Millennium Approaches, Part II: Perestroika, directed by Ivica Buljan for Mini Theatre Ljubljana; Marko Sosič and Tadej Pišek’s About Snow and Love directed by Tadej Pišek for the Godot Institute and the Slovene Permanent Theatre in Trieste, Jernej Lorenci and Dino Pešut’sThe Pohorje Battalion. An Attempt at Reconstruction directed by Jernej Lorenci for the Ljubljana City Theatre and the Ptuj City Theatre; Sex Education II, a Series of Lecture-Performances on the Sexual Pleasure of Women, directed by Tjaša Črnigoj for the New Post Office at the Mladinsko Theatre; Kajuh: Assault, based on the life and work of Karel Destovnik and directed by Živa Bizovičar for the Celje City Theatre, a second production of Angels in America directed by Nina Rajić Kranjac for the Mladinsko Theatre, spanning six hours and partially performed outdoors. (“The Mladinsko ensemble is beyond reproach. Each one of them radiates a presence that make the characters not only believable, but also alive,” wrote our critic of the performance).
The programme concludes with The Crack directed by Jan Krmelj for the Ljubljana City Theatre, and Milan Ramšak Marković’s Prometheus: A Beautiful Apocalypse directed by Sebastijan Horvat for the SNT Drama Maribor.
Founded over five decades ago, the festival has established itself as the most important event in the Slovenian theatre calendar, showcasing Slovenian theatre on an international stage.
For more information visit: borstnikovo.si
Further reading: interview with Nina Ramšak Marković: “Comedy is an overlooked genre”
Further reading: interview with Nina Rajić Kranjac: “Questions of identity fascinate me.”
Natasha Tripney is a writer, editor and critic based in London and Belgrade. She is the international editor for The Stage, the newspaper of the UK theatre industry. In 2011, she co-founded Exeunt, an online theatre magazine, which she edited until 2016. She is a contributor to the Guardian, Evening Standard, the BBC, Tortoise and Kosovo 2.0
