CONTEMPORARY THEATRE PRODUCTION IN MONTENEGRO AND CHALLENGES OF TRANSITION: REDEFINING PROGRAMMING POLICY
CONTEMPORARY THEATRE PRODUCTION IN MONTENEGRO AND CHALLENGES OF TRANSITION: REDEFINING PROGRAMMING POLICY

Summary/Abstract: Contemporary theatre is an important archive of productions that define programming policy in the context of dominant themes of transition, while also contributing to redefining the very mission of theatre in the present moment. This article analyses a selection of productions of the Montenegrin National Theatre in Podgorica and Royal Theatre Zetski dom in Cetinje that are particularly significant for the local community by reflecting its political, economic and social context. The productions discussed include Otpad by Ljubomir Đurković, Montenegro Blues by Radmila Vojvodić, Enciklopedija izgubljenog vremena by Slobodan Šnajder, and two plays based on documentary material, Očevi su grad(ili) by Boris Liješević and Dokle pogled seže by Árpád Schilling. These productions employ a variety of theatrical and dramatic approaches, with diverse authorial voices and employing a variety of contemporary theatre methods. The environment of transition is the only constant feature in the theatre of the Balkans. This article can also be seen as a contribution to the reflections on the 30 year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, or rather as contemporary Montenegrin theatre’s perspective on the challenges of transition that were precipitated by it. Transitional reality creates a novum in theatre, to borrow Darko Suvin’s term. Programming becomes an important archive of cultural memory that holds the perspectives and views of a society in a process of change. The archive of the productions analyzed here testifies of the time at the beginning of the transition and the way it unfolded seen through the lens of contemporary theatre.They create a thematic cycle created by new body of drama in Montenegrin theatre which refer to the challenges of the outside world. This article will also aim to map contemporary performing practices that redefined the definition of programming policy from within the traditional context, where the policy itself is defined as a new programming value, a value of importance to the community.

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