Slovenia’s Mladinsko Theatre has announced its new season for 2024/25 including work by Oliver Frljić and Živa Bizovičar.
Entitled Konec dober, vse dobro (All’s well that ends well), the 69th season in Slovenia’s Mladinsko Theatre will explore themes of self-reflection, uncertainty, and societal aspirations, questioning the trajectory of Mladinsko and its role within the theatre and broader society. It is also the last year in the term of director Tibor Mihelič Syed and artistic director Goran Injac, hence the reflective approach. Over a decade, they have cemented the theatre’s reputation for creating politically and socially engaged work.
The season will begin in October with the performances Domolov by Bora Ravbar, which deals with the human impact of changes in the housing market, and Birds by Žiga Divjak, who uses Thomas van Dooren’s book The Wake of Crows: Living and Dying in Shared Worlds as the basis for his continued exploration of environmental issues. By the end of the year, there will be the Slovenian premiere of Bertolt Brecht’s St. Joan of the Stockyards, in a coproduction with the Italian duo ErosAntEros – Davide Sacco and Agata Tomšič – which premiered in Bologna earlier this year The performance will feature live music by the band Laibach.
ErosAntEros – Saint Joan of the Stockyards
At the beginning of 2025, Boško and Admira, directed by Živa Bizovičar, will premiere. Its starting point is a war photograph of an embracing dead couple, a Muslim and an Orthodox Christian, on the Vrbanja Bridge. The project explores the ethical considerations for artists when dealing with war photography.
In March, the audience can expect a new production by Tomi Janežič. The play called 1974 is part of the year-long theatrical series 1972–1983 within the DESTINYation project under the European Capital of Culture Nova Gorica – Gorica 2025. It is based on the personal stories of the creators, focusing on growing up.
Later in 2025, the director Oliver Frljić – currently co-artistic director of the Maxim Gorki Theatre in Berlin – will make his return to Mladinsko in May with the Incubator, a project that delves into their own experiences, including the premature birth of his sister as well the war in Gaza.
Following the successful multi-part series Sex Education II, the theatre continues its collaboration with director Tjaša Črnigoj on the documentary performance Article 55, which portrays the struggle for women’s reproductive rights during a period of social change in Slovenia. After the Performance Festival, Mladinsko will also continue working with artist Barbara Kukovec. In her new performance, Barbara’s Sister’s Cookbook, she will prepare the ground for exchanging recipes with her contemporary colleagues to create a non-patriarchal rural environment.
Established in 1955, the Mladinsko Theatre was Slovenia’s first professional theatre for young audiences. Today, it is a leading hub for theatrical innovation and experimentation in the country.
For more information, visit: Mladinsko.com
Further reading: interview with artistic director Goran Injac: “I’m always looking for ways to initiate public debate”
Further reading: interview with Oliver Frljić: “The essence of my job is to be critical.”
Further reading: Staging Brecht’s St. Joan of the Stockyards
Divna Stojanov is a dramaturg and playwright. She writes mainly for children and young people.
