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Saturday, 7. 10. 2023
20:00

Vladimir Arsenijević & Igor Štiks: Urotnici

Indigo Echo

Stage reading of the dramatic text "Urotnici" (The Conspirators), written by Vladimir Arsenijević and Igor Štiks.

Directed by Boris Liješević
Participants: Svetozar Cvetković, Isidora Minić, Dejan Dedić, Marko Grabež

What happens when, breaking all the laws of space and time, Bogdan, Borka, Mirko, Sem, Predrag, Svetlana, Saša, Miroslav, Daša and Danilo meet? And what is their connection with writers whose surnames are Bogdanović, Pavićević, Kovač, Mehmedinović, Matvejević, Slapšak, Hemon, Krleža, Drndić and Kiš? In what kind of conspiracy are they involved? And to what kind of action are they calling us?

On the basis of the texts published in the Common Library edition, this exciting mix of voices, linguistic and artistic polyphony was created, which convincingly proves that, even though today we find ourselves divided into several different countries, and many of us in diaspora, we are no foreigners to each other. Because in literature there are no passports. The bonds that exist between us, and which rest on the common “social property” of not only language but also great literary heritage, are much stronger than the destructive forces that have produced more evil in the past few decades than we could have ever imagined. That evil is the topic of “Urotnici”, as well as a conspiracy for a different, better future. Literature has a key place in it, because imagination is more important to us today than ever before. Readers and viewers, who speak, use, and create in the common language and to whom it alone belongs, wherever they may be, are invited to an adventure of reading, discovering, exploring and rethinking. This is an expression of the tenacious optimism and firm belief that the bonds on which rests one literary republic in the European South, will continue to thrive.

In spite of everything.

Vladimir Arsenijević is an award-winning and internationally recognized Serbian writer, translator, editor, publicist, and cultural worker. He won the 1994 NIN Award for his first novel "In the Hold", thus becoming the youngest ever recipient of this prestigious literary award. In the Hold was also the first debut novel to be awarded this prize. This anti-war novel was soon translated into 20 languages, placing Arsenijević among the most translated Serbian writers.

Igor Štiks is a novelist and university professor. He published the award-winning novels "A Castle in Romagna" (2000) and "Elijah’s Chair" (2006), which have been translated into fifteen languages so far, and in 2017 the novel "In the Cut". The stage adaptation of Elijah’s Chair, directed by Boris Liješević, won the Grand Prix of the 2011 BITEF.

The stage reading "Urotnici" is part of the "Zajednička čitaonica" project and is a co-production of My Balkans and Krokodil.

The event is organised in in collaboration with the Vodnik Homestead (Vodnikova domačija).