18 May A BREATH OF FRESH AIR WITHIN STALENESS

Spring Awakening, Frank Wedekind/Anja Suša, “Duško Radović” Little Theatre

The performance Spring Awakening, directed by Anja Suša (adapted by Irena Kraus) is a modernized, poetical and engaged staging of an infinitely inspiring expressionistic text by Frank Wedekind (written in 1891), a mosaic play about the process of growing up and discovering sexuality. This production saw many scenes and characters cut out from the original Wedekind’s text which thickened the plot, i.e. adjusted it to the contemporary sensibility. Some motifs are introduced in order to make the plot more up-to-date, and all those dramaturgical interventions are carried out with elegance, credibility and skill. For example, Wendla’s mother addresses Moritz via Facebook, while Wendla’s imitation of Britney Spears reflects the question of the influence pop culture exerts on teenagers. Furthermore, one of the crucial scenes, the intimate encounter between Wendla and Moritz, which in Wedekind’s play takes place in the forest, here is placed in a disco, which is more congruent with modern times. The actors who play children – Maša Dakić (Wendla), Jelena Petrović (Marta), Jelena Ilić (Ilse), Miloš Anđelković (Moritz) and Damjan Kecojević (Melchior), the victims of bad education and repression, are uniform in style, precise and defined in naivety and simplicity. Such a performance clearly states their tragic quality; it emphasizes the horror of their position in the society defined by hypocrisy and deadly conformism. Their sincerity is juxtaposed by the acting of Dušica Sinobad, who creates Wendla’s mother in a mechanical, plastic, lifeless manner which perfectly shows the disgusting hypocrisy and stupidity. Miloš Samolov plays the school teacher and the doctor in a highly theatrical way as well: he yells and screams, ridiculing the blasé attitude of the authorities.

The stage is simple and stylized (stage design by Igor Vasiljev, costume design by Maja Mirković). The space is divided by transparent curtains, which often creates dreamlike, ethereal effect. The mesmerizing poetical quality is additionally intensified by video projections: tender, animated scenes of summer, floating clouds, etc. and a minimalistic emotional music (composed by Igor Gostuški).

At the end of the performance, theatre illusion gets completely dissolved and replaced by self-reflective approach. Through the speakers, the audience can hear a conversation between several people, a discussion about the meaning of the play, about guilt, responsibility, and about hope. After that, the audience is addressed by the actors who are still on stage, and asked for their opinion about the characters and the plot (at the premiere, some interesting ideas were shared). This type of director’s approach actively involves the audience not only in the performance but also in a socially engaged discourse which is of utmost importance given the relevance of the issues tackled in the performance.

After a whole range of tepid, anaemic and essentially insignificant performances which have been premiered since the beginning of this season, Spring Awakening, directed by Anja Suša has, by its fresh, poetic and sincere approach, breathed some fresh air into numb, lifeless body of Belgrade theatre offer.
Ana Tasić
Published 13th December, 2009