Neoplanta

Novosadsko pozorište / Újvidéki Színház (SR)

Première: 16. 2. 2014, Novosadsko pozorište (SR)
Running time 1 hour and 30 minutes. No interval.
Performance is Serbian and Hungarian with Slovenian supertitles.

Director András Urbán
Assistant to director Judit Ferenc
Dramaturg Kata Đarmati
Stage designer András Urbán
Costume designer Marina Sremac
Composer Atila Antal
Lighting designer Robert Majoroš
Sound designer Tibor Biro & Atila Lukač
Director associate Robert Lenard
Photography designer Srđan Doroški

Cast
Gabriela Crnković
Emina Elor
Agota Ferenc
Silvia Križan
Agota Siladji
Ištvan Kereši
Daniel Husta
Atila Nemet
Arpad Mesaroš
Zoltan Širmer
Gabor Pongo

Neoplanta doesn’t speak just about Novi Sad but is also a paradigm for the entire Europe and above all the Balkans as well as the past century’s grotesque-tragic contemporary history of the two, which is at the same time a period of "immense and rapid” progress. In fact it’s progress in its most bloody, ruthless, impersonal and chauvinistic form and manner. The performance tackles contemporary issues in layers. Confronting reality is confined and depraved, confronting history even more so: sentimentality and nostalgia blur the perspective.

Partly with self-irony and cynicism, the performance tackles the turbulent history of Novi Sad, acknowledged as a city in 1748 by the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. She was also the one who declared the right of every nation living in the city to give the city its own name. The openness of the co-existence of several cultures could be seen as a cosmopolitan tolerance of freedom. Yet, when we follow a series of polemic historical moments that depict the key events in the life of Novi Sad, we realise that we actually follow a cautious and meticulous, at once humorous and self-ironic, analysis of a pitiless battle in which guilt is no longer allocated, as the responsibility lies with everybody.  History, in turn, shifts directions as they prove opportune, the city and its inhabitants shifting together with it.

Photo: Srđan Doroški

Photo: Srđan Doroški

Photo: Srđan Doroški

Photo: Srđan Doroški