"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," a 20th-century classic directed by Jug Djordjevic

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," a 20th-century classic directed by Jug Djordjevic

The Croatian National Theatre Split's production of Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," a classic of 20th-century American drama, will premiere on Thursday, April 4th, on the stage of the Split National Theatre. Directed by the young, award-winning director Jug Djordjevic in his debut on a Croatian stage, the drama, set in the patriarchal American South of the 1950s, will feature Katarina Romac as Margaret, Goran Marković as Brick, and Trpimir Jurkić and Tajana Jovanović as Mr. and Mrs. Pollock. The play is performed in the translation of Ivo Juriša, adapted and dramatized by Tijana Grumić.

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," a 20th-century classic directed by Jug Djordjevic

In the 1955 drama "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," Pulitzer Prize-winning Tennessee Williams portrays an inhumane, capitalist society in decay, where lies are more attractive than truth, and suppressed feelings are spoken aloud within a family immersed in an existential crisis of unconscious desires. By bringing this classic into contemporary times, the creative team of the play aims to address the question of whether and to what extent society has changed since 1955 when the drama was written. The 21st century seems to be the right time to question the worldviews of Williams' patriarchal South. The universal tenets of capitalism have not been curbed, and in the new neoliberal guise, capitalism still consumes its children with renewed intensity.

"In contemplating the directorial-dramaturgical concept of this play, we wanted to address all these themes that are crucial not only for this specific piece but for understanding Williams as an author and his body of work. Thus, to begin with, we decided to retain almost all the characters from the original version of the text, with all the complexities they bring with them, in order to provide both performers and audiences with the opportunity to identify with their inner conflicts and the journey of each individual character towards self-awareness," emphasizes dramaturge and adaptation author Tijana Grumić.

One of the great American dramatic trios (alongside Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller), Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) achieved his first success at the age of 33 with the play "The Glass Menagerie." This was followed by "A Streetcar Named Desire," "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "Sweet Bird of Youth," and "The Night of the Iguana," all now classics of contemporary theatre. He wrote short stories, poetry, essays, and memoirs, but he is best remembered for his plays.

Jug Djordjevic was born in 1993 in Vranje. In his second year of high school, he became a scholar of the American Consulate, and he completed his third year of high school in Rochester, USA. During that period, he also attended the School of the Arts in the same city. He graduated in Theatre and Radio Directing from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, in the class of Professors Nikola Jevtić and Dušan Petrović. He directed his first professional production at the "Bora Stanković" Theatre in Vranje, a play titled "Kepler 452-b," which received the Special Award for New Theatre Sensibility at the 54th Festival of Professional Theatres of Serbia "Joakim Vujić" in Novi Pazar and was selected for the 63rd Sterijino Pozorje in 2018. Numerous awards followed, including the recent Sterijino Pozorje Award in 2023 for Best Play for "Lullaby for Aleksia Rajčić" by Đorđe Kostić, performed by the National Theatre in Belgrade.

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 mentioned directors Jug Djordjevic, dramaturge and adaptation author Tijana Grumić, the creative team of the play includes: set designer Andreja Rondović, costume designer Velimirka Damjanović, composer Nevena Glušica, Anja Ostojić (movement director), proofreader Anita Runjić Stoilova, and light and sound designers Srđan Barbarić and Josip Vinko Lozić.

After the premiere on April 4th, repeat performances will follow on April 5th, 6th, and 7th, all starting at 8:00 PM.