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The Drama ensemble of the National Theatre began the rehearsals of the play “Millennium in Belgrade”, based on the novel “Millennium in Belgrade” by the multi-award-winning writer Vladimir Pištalo, directed by Marko Čelebić.

The author team consists of: Katarina Todorović (dramatization), Marija Kalabić (set designer), Marija Marković Milojev (costume designer), Mirko Knežević (stage movement), Jovan Todorovski/ Jasna Saramandić (assistant set designer) and Ena Krotić (assistant costume designer).

“This is a novel about a city. It is not only a novel about one generation, but also about Belgrade, which is constantly in the background and is one of the characters... When writing about the Mediterranean, someone once said: You cannot read this book without having your own experience of the inland sea. Likewise, you cannot work without your experience of the inner work”, Vladimir Pištalo said to the artistic and collaborators’ team of the play at the first reading rehearsal.

According to the director Čelebić, “Millennium in Belgrade” is a chronicle of an era told through the eyes of a city - miraculous, dreamt of and cursed, while we follow the generation of young people who represent it and resemble it, embodied in a group of five best friends.
 
“During the social changes in the period of the transition from communism to socialism and the breakup of Yugoslavia, their pillars on which their world rests are collapsing, and their ideals are fading away.” With the new millennium, the internal and external destruction of Belgrade made the young people, who once dreamed of the city, felt it and lived in it, want to reject it, despise it, and some even leave it. Despite the frequent helplessness of its citizens, the city remains magical and forever open to all those who are ready to continue to dream of it, because the city is the people, and the people will never stop giving the city new eyes,” Marko Čelebić says, who directs for the first time at National Theatre in Belgrade.

The artistic director of the National Theatre Drama, Molina Udovički, expressed her view that Mr. Pištalo wrote a wonderful story “about the city that we all love.”

“The story is not so much tied to time as it is to place. Perhaps it is most related to the timelessness and the entire space in which we live, which is as big as any of us can reach,” Molina Udovički said pointing out that she was very pleased that some of the more experienced actors were also cast who had not had a premiere for a while.

“Now they have the opportunity to do something new, different. We have a young director and a young dramaturge who know very well what they are doing. I do prefer the combination of different generations. It always gives good results”, the artistic director of the Drama added. 

The cast members are: Aleksandar Vučković (Milan Đorđević), Nikola Vujović (Bane Janović), Bojan Krivokapić (Boris Petrović), Vaja Dujović (Zora Stefanović), Zorana Bećić (Irina Bojović), Daniela Kuzmanović Pavlović (Olga), Nebojša Kundačina (Andrija Đorđević), Zoran Ćosić (Čedomir Bojović) and Vasilije Vujović (Bojan).

Renowned musicians, members of famous bands also participate in the play as composers of the original score: Vladan Rajović (Kanda, Kodža i Nebojša), Boško Mijušković (Turbo Trans Turisti, Straight Mickey and the Boyz) and Damjan Babić (Crvi, Kriške).

The premiere is planned early in July on the “Raša Plaović” Stage, as part of the main programme of the 31st Belgrade Summer Festival - BELEF.