The competition programme for the 58th Maribor Theatre Festival will include work by Nina Rajić Kranjac and Jernej Lorenci.
At a press conference attended by Aleš Novak, the festival’s artistic director, and Vilma Štritof, the selector of the competition program, the competition programme was announced for the festival which will take place from 5th to 18th June. There will also be an introductory programme aimed at involving young audiences which will take place between 22nd -24th May.
The main strand of the festival is the competition program, which will feature 12 performances selected by Vilma Štritof, from over 120 productions seen in 2022.
The Maribor Theatre Festival will be inaugurated by the European theatre festival hit La Tempesta, produced by Teatro Stabile Torino and directed by Alessandro Serra. The Italian author Pippo Delbono will present his new play Amore, and there will be an opportunity to see The Handke Project by Kosovar playwright Jeton Neziraj and Teatro Ristori.
The Children at SNG Drama Photo: Peter Uhan
The competition programme will feature the following productions: En K te gleda, based on the Kafka short story; Francis, directed by Jernej Lorenci, adapted from the novel Saint Francis by Nikos Kazantzakis, and produced by Ptuj City Theatre; Usedline, by Katarina Morano and directed by Žiga Divjak presented by Ljubljana City Theatre; Predsednice, directed by Nina Ramšak Markovič, produced by Zavod Melara in collaboration with the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television of the University of Ljubljana; Tijana Grumić’s 52 Hertz directed by Mojca Madon and presented by the Slovene National Theatre Nova Gorica; Nataša Matjašec Rošker and Petja Labović’s Ne ti meni Alice (Once Again), produced by the Slovene National Theater Maribor; Edward Albee’s Who’s Afarid of Virginia Woolf? directed by Ivica Buljan and co-produced by Mini teater and Ptuj City Theatre; Lucy Kirkwood’s The Children directed by Nina Šorak and produced by the Slovene National Theater Drama Ljubljana; Ivan Viripajev’s Closed Study. »New Constructive Ethics« directed by Nina Rajić Kranjac and produced by Prešeren Theatre Kranj, Wives in Dough, directed by Živa Bizovičar and based on the Slovenian folk song, produced by Slovene National Theater Drama Ljubljana and Waiting for Superman; Slavenka Drakulić’s Invisible Woman directed by Ivana Djilas and produced by Anton Podbevšek Theater; and Dimitrije Kokanov’s Gibanje, directed by Juš Zidar for the Slovene National Theater Drama Ljubljana and Cukrarna, which premiered on 29th December 2022.
Main image: Wives in Dough
For further information, visit: Borsnitkovo.si
Further reading: interview with Žiga Divjak “We have to completely change our value system”
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
