Dramaturge and director Ivan Penović is the new director of Drama at the Croatian National Theatre Split.
Ivan Penović graduated in dramaturgy from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. Since 2012, he has been a dramaturge on productions at CNT Ivan pl. Zajc in Rijeka, CNT in Varaždin, Youth Theatre Zagreb, the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, and Theatre &TD. He has also collaborated on projects with many artistic organizations (Ruper, Punctum, Kufer, Ludens Teatar, Studentski Teatar Lero, etc.).
Since 2014, he has primarily directed his texts or authorial projects, including notable works such as Sva lica Kim-Jong Una (Ateatar, 2014), Prijeđanje vublike 148 (Ganz Novi Festival / Teatar &TD, 2017), Katalonac (Ruper / Teatar &TD, 2018), Flex (KunstTeatar / Punctum, 2019), Znaš ti tko sam ja (Tonska dvorana HNK Zagreb), Proces Kafka (Teatar &TD, 2020), Neprijatelj naroda (ZKM, 2021), Hrvatski bog masakra (HNK Varaždin, 2021), Van sebe (Dubrovnik Summer Festival, 2021), Fahrenheit 451 (HNK I. pl. Zajc, Rijeka, 2021), Ti si prvi hrabar (Kunst Teatar, 2021), Tatko na Tatkovinata (National Theatre Bitola, 2022), Kozmički žongleri (GDK Gavella, 2023), and Tužan pogled u prazan takujin (HNK Split, 2024).
The plays Znaš ti tko sam ja, Katalonac, Proces Kafka, Ti si prvi hrabar, and Flex have won multiple awards at national theater festivals and annual professional awards.
From 2019 to January 2025, he served as the artistic director of the theater company KUFER.