The competitive selection, chosen by selector Dragiša Ćurguza, consists of seven performances, the most popular titles from the region in the previous season. In addition to the new production of the host, DIRTY HANDS, based on the text by Jean-Paul Sartre, directed by Jug Radivojević, the selection includes ODE TO JOY, Fedor Šili, directed by Gordan Kičić – Atelje 212 Theater Belgrade, BOLIVUD, Maja Pelević, directed by Kokan Mladenović – City Theater Podgorica, CARMINA BURANA, another direction by Kokan Mladenović but this time from the City Drama Theater Gavella Zagreb, KING IBI, Alfred Žari, directed by Staša Koprivica – Belgrade Drama Theater Belgrade, MRS. OLGA, Milutin Bojić, directed by Jug Đorđević – National Theater in Belgrade and National Theater of the Republic of Srpska – Banja Luka, and RICHARD II, William Shakespeare, directed by Boris Liješević – Yugoslav Drama Theater Belgrade.
This year, the awards will be decided by a three-member jury consisting of: Ljiljana Blagojević, an actress from Serbia, Željka Turčinović, a dramaturg from Croatia, and Dušanka Belada, a young Montenegrin director.
This year’s edition of the festival will feature three premieres. In addition to the aforementioned performance Dirty Hands at the festival opening on July 1, we can expect the first co-production of CZK Tivat and the City Drama Theater Gavella from Zagreb, on July 25, the performance MICHELANGELO BUONAROTI, by Miroslav Krleža, directed by Dražen Ferenčina, with Momčilo Otašević in the title role.
The third festival premiere is the play Peer Gynt, by Henrik Ibsen, directed by Paolo Tišljarić, produced in co-production with CZK Tivat and the Marin Držić Theater from Dubrovnik. The first premiere has already been performed in Dubrovnik on April 1, while the premiere in Tivat is scheduled for August 23. This is the first co-production of a theater from Montenegro with the Dubrovnik theater in history.
The accompanying program will feature numerous performances, mostly of domestic production – Three Sisters, Contra Mundum, Hasanaginica, Filomena Marturano, The Bald Soprano, and Mirandolina. There will also be a children’s performance by the Youth Theater from Sarajevo, while a musical and theatrical performance will be presented by Marko Janketić.
A new addition to the program is JAGOŠEVA SETIMANA – the first week of August is dedicated to the master of theater direction Jagoš Marković, who has left a deep mark in CZK Tivat, and three of his plays will be performed in succession – Hasanaginica, Filomena Marturano, and The Bald Soprano.
At the festive closing of the festival, after the award ceremony, the performance of the Yugoslav Drama Theater People’s Deputy, by Branislav Nušić, directed by Vita Taufer, will be presented.
Tickets can be purchased online at the website czktivat.me and at the box office of the Center for Culture Tivat. A discount of 30% has been set for a package of tickets for the competitive performances, amounting to 80.50 euros.
All detailed information about the festival program can be found on the website and the center’s profiles on social media Instagram and Facebook.
The golden sponsor of this year’s edition of the festival is the Ministry of Culture and Media, while the bronze sponsors are Hotel Magnolia Place, the Tourist Organization of Tivat, and the Ministry of Tourism of Montenegro. The media sponsor is Radio Tivat.
The festival opens with a new independent production of the host, Dirty Hands. Director Goran Božović expressed satisfaction that the text by Jean-Paul Sartre, a political drama, a classic that speaks about the relationship between political ideology and personal ethics, between dirty action and pure thought, which discusses class differences and acceptance, examines how far we are willing to go for ideals, and whether it is possible to remain clean while still changing the world.
“We continue the trend of working with the best. For the first time, we are collaborating with Jug Radivojević as a director. Jug returns to his basic calling, directing, after five years, with this project. It is a great honor for us that in the cast, alongside Montenegrin actors, we have Miloš Biković, practically the most popular actor in the Balkans, who, despite numerous engagements and filming abroad, expressed his willingness to participate in this project. Considering that he practically only performs in one play in Belgrade, this is an exclusive. We have a great cast of the younger generation from Montenegro led by Lazar Đurđević, who will gain greater visibility thanks to this project, and I am sure that for some of them, the role in this play will be a springboard for their further careers,” Božović emphasized.
Director Jug Radivojević emphasizes that the universality of Sartre’s themes was the key reason for returning to this text.
“This play speaks about eternal dilemmas – can the world be changed while remaining clean, and where are the boundaries of personal responsibility,” says Radivojević.
As he states, the play did not seek violent aktualization because “the text and the lines establish an incredible correspondence with today’s time.” Therefore, the authorial team decided on a minimalist stage expression where acting and thought are in the foreground.
“We tried to speak completely honestly, relying solely on the text and acting,” emphasizes the director.
Actor Miloš Biković believes that “Dirty Hands” raises questions for which there are no simple answers.
“The play opens complex questions about power, conscience, and love. We tried to find the personal and human within these great social themes,” said Biković.
Lazar Đurđević, for whom this is one of the most demanding roles so far, says that working on the play was an exceptional experience for him.
“This character has opened many questions for me. I am still searching for answers, but that is precisely the value of this process,” said Đurđević, adding that the work on the play was marked by trust and unity of the entire ensemble.
Actress Lara Dragović emphasizes that the play requires an active viewer and that its layers are revealed anew.
“This is not a play that is consumed in one viewing. Each time a new line of the story and a new question can be discovered,” says Dragović.
The ensemble emphasizes that it was precisely the joint work, openness, and mutual trust that characterized the entire process of creating the play, which offers the audience a strong and contemporary reading of Sartre’s classic, reminding that the questions of freedom, responsibility, morality, and choice are just as important today as they were almost eighty years ago.
The ceremonial opening of this year’s edition of the Purgatorije festival and the premiere of the play “Dirty Hands” is scheduled for Wednesday, July 1, in the large hall of CZK Tivat, starting at 21:30.
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