HASAN AGA'S WIFE

After the premiere on 30 December 2001 on the “Fifth Floor” Stage, we received the following reviews: “The Wife of Hassan-Aga has been directed by Jagoš Marković. When we watch one of his productions, we can be sure that he will stir your emotions with the hearty support from the cast. He simply cannot do it any other way”; “The Wife of Hassan-Aga interpreted by Vanja Ejdus is a remarkable accomplishment”; “Aleksandar Srećković has recited (…) probably the best monologue in our modern dramatic texts (…) in the best tradition of Branko Pleša, when a drama monologue becomes music, poetry and wisdom”; “Hassan-Aga’s mother has been surely and maturely interpreted by Radmila Živković, while Ksenija Jovanović builds the character of the Mother of the Pintorovićs from impenetrable mask, which eventually reveals the tragedy of woman’s. Darko Tomović has designed a superb theatrical accomplishment in the role of Jusuf”; “This is beyond a shadow of a doubt a success for the National Theatre, while for the director, this represents generalization of his distinctive talent and a way to his true expression”…
The production remained on the repertoire and it has always been performed for the theatre full to capacity; it toured Požarevac, Podgorica, Pančevo, Macedonia (Ohrid Summer Festival 2002), Novi Sad (Sterija Pozorje Festival 2003). Superb creation of demanding title role brought Vanja Ejdus the Sterija Award; Ksenija Jovanović won the Award of the Audience at the Seventh “Milivoje Živanović” Festival of Acting; while Aleksandar Srećković won the Best Actor of the Evening Award given by the Jury of Professionals. Besides Jagoš Marković, who directed and selected music for the production, the team of authors for this production comprises of Boris Maksimović, set designer; Bojana Nikitović, costume designer; Ivana Dimić, dramaturge; Ljiljana Mrkić Popović, PhD, stage speech. The cast at the premiere: Vanja Ejdus (Wife of Hassan-Aga); Marinko Madžgalj (Hassan-Aga); Radmila Živković (Hassan-Aga’s Mother); Aleksandar Srećković (Count Pintorović); Ksenija Jovanović (Mother of the Pintorovićs); Darko Tomović (Jusuf Efendi); Branislav Ciga Jerinić (Ahmed); Nenad Stojmenović (Suljo, Soldier); Igor Đorđević (Huso, soldier) and Stefan Kapičić (Musa). The same cast acted in all other performances, except for Srboljub Milin who played the role of Ahmed on six occasions and Nenad Radović and Igor Damljanović once played the roles of Suljo and Musa.

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JAGOŠ MARKOVIĆ, DIRECTOR
INSTEAD OF A BIOGRAPHY
It is my honour and pride to have been appointed to present Jagoš Markovic with “Mica Popović” Art Award from the Fund for the Promotion of Creativity. (…) By his black canvases, films, books, public activities, as well as with his whole life, Mića Popović was a challenge and a provocation. In another way, Jagoš Markovic is also a challenge and a provocation, by his specific, fantastic, wild, reach theatre. When working on a play, Jagoš always notices something that no one before him has ever seen. He throws new light even on the old and already known things. He succeeds in that by using some unnoticeable gesture, but with that gesture, he changes everything. Jan Kott once wrote Godot with small g, thus transforming the name of man or God into a word. In that way, he gave it an unexpected meaning, unexpected domain and volume, as well as unexpected consequence. Jagoš uses the similar procedure: his Miser does not count, nor fondle, nor hug, nor devour golden coins, but glass marbles. Through those glass marbles the classical drama and the classical problem has rolled into an unexpected direction. Radically, by his great courage, Jagoš changes the metaphors found in the text. However, he does not do that only as a director, for he is not only a director in the theatre. In fact, he is everything in the theatre: he is an actor and the whole ensemble, he is the audience, the stage and the theatre box, the first, the second and the third gallery, he is the theatre library, he is the brush and the paint, the hammer and the nail, the ropes and the lights, the silk and the fire, the sets and the curtain. Probably, he is all of that only to show us that the world without love is only dry, salty and lifeless sea bottom, which is the same what apostle Paul says in The First Epistle to the Corinthians. Tonight we are bestowing “Mica Popović” Art Award to the man who is the whole, alive theatre, theatre without intermission, theatre without working hours, theatre that never closes its door nor puts out its light. Jagoš Markovic deserves this award in the same way Mića Popović deserves his name being given to this award; because of his gift, given by God, but which must be realized on his own, without God’s help, with the highest persistence and exclusivity serving only to that he loves and believes in.

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AWARDS:
VANJA EJDUS – STERIJA’S AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS