The upcoming theatrical premiere of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by Tennessee Williams was presented at the Croatian National Theatre in Split. This drama, set in the patriarchal American South of the 1950s, will grace the stage of the Split theater on Thursday, April 4th. Directed by the young, award-winning, and acclaimed director Jug Đorđević, making his debut on one of Croatia's stages, the play features Katarina Romac as Margaret, Goran Marković as Brick, and Trpimir Jurkić and Tajana Jovanović as Mama and Papa Pollock. The performance is presented in the translation by Iva Juriš, adaptation, and dramaturgy by Tijana Grumić.
Ivan Plazibat, the Director of Drama at HNK Split, stated: "Classics are timeless; we already know everything about them, and it is our task to breathe new life into them. The fundamental question in deciding to stage this particular text was whether we have the right cast in our ensemble. Watching rehearsals convinced me that we made a good choice. We are witnessing a renewed interest in Tennessee Williams on the regional and global stage. He is a writer who carries unbridled and wild emotions that people always enjoy seeing on stage. With Jug, I appreciate his aesthetics; his productions are always exquisitely designed, whether through acting, stage design, costume, or the music that is an integral part of his theater. In that sense, it is consistently exemplary what can be seen in these regions."
Director Jug Đorđević added: "We endeavored to focus on the golden example of that patriarchal structure of the South. In this case, the South of America, but also the South of Croatia, and I myself was born in the South of Serbia, and all these elements are somehow united by the common denominator of patriarchy embodied in this drama in the character of the great father. In the film, the focus is on the unhappy woman. The film, in a way, did a disservice to Williams' drama, which offers many more themes. This is primarily a play about transience, about death, and how it affects all the characters, including that woman, unhappy in her marriage. The main events, as is usual with Tennessee Williams, happened before the start of the drama; the characters bear a huge burden of the past. We witness the last moments of Big Daddy's life and how the other characters resolve that situation. In aesthetic terms, the play relies on the fifties but is created from today's perspective in terms of moral and ethical principles. The moment in which the drama unfolds is the one in which the decision is made as to whom the great family fortune will belong. Masks are stripped away, characters reveal their true selves and some new truths about themselves. Big Daddy does not make a decision as to whom he will leave this great wealth to until the very end. One of our inspirations was also the popular TV series 'Succession.' I believe that HNK Split has the right cast for this play, and that will be evident on stage."
The cast includes: Katarina Romac, Goran Marković, Trpimir Jurkić, Tajana Jovanović, Nikša Arčanin, Monika Vuco Carev, Stipe Jelaska, Elvis Bošnjak, Filip Luka Gospić, Dea Maria Računica, Mia Bujan, and Zdravko Vukelić.
In addition to the aforementioned director Jug Đorđević, dramaturge and adaptation author Tijana Grumić, the creative team behind the play includes: set designer Andreja Rondović, costume designer Velimirka Damjanović, composer Nevena Glušica, Anja Ostojić (movement director), proofreader Anita Runjić Stoilova, as well as lighting and sound designers Srđan Barbarić and Josip Vinko Lozić.
Following the premiere on April 4th, there will be repeat performances on April 5th, 6th, and 7th, all starting at 8 p.m.