The great drama

The Great Drama is one of the most ambitious plays by Siniša Kovačević, a renowned playwright, who worked on the text for thirteen years. This is a moving story about re-examining the past and seeing how tumultuous post-war (the Second World War) events reflect on individuals and the way their destinies are set because of it. The author focuses on a Montenegrin family of Vučićs who actively, both ideologically and in every other sense of the word, participate in colonization of Vojvodina. The hero of The Great Drama is Milorad Vučić, who manages to impose ideological illusions of the new time to his traditionally organised patriarchal society. He submits tradition to the communist vision of progress, the future social order in which he heartedly believes to be just and the final one to mend all injustices accumulated over the centuries. However, in his uncompromising and honest following of the high goal Milorad, unfortunately, forgets some of basic values of life and by consciously sacrificing them faces a tragedy; the tragedy will effect his family even the generations to follow.  Siniša Kovačević’s text serves as a remainder that the pillars of life are actually the simple wishes – spending the life with the woman you love, in the place you love and by doing what you love. The three “loves” are, unfortunately, unobtainable in the play for the reasons an individual cannot influence. Namely, historical circumstances which, as the author skilfully presents in the prologue and the epilogue (the prologue and epilogue happen half a century after the period 1945-48) events that keep recurring in the country, only with slight variations, and always with same dilemmas for people who live here, indicating that, to put it in simple terms, the happiness is only a dream. The disconcerting realisation about such destiny has a true sobering effect regarding liberation from all sorts of ideological frames and by turning to the essence of being. All these and numerous other issues in the exciting drama have been skilfully incorporated in a clear dramatic action, which becomes timeless owing to the author’s mastery to present an exciting play from the point of seemingly surpassed and many times examined historical events, which is of enormous importance to us.  Last, but not least important: The Great Drama has been made of magical catharsical illusion which Racine considers the most important in theatre – emotion!
Željko Hubač

SINIŠA KOVAČEVIĆ
Siniša Kovačević was born on 30 May 1954 in Sremska Mitrovica, where he finished primary and grammar school. At the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade he studied at the Department of Dramaturgy with Professors Ljubiša Đokić, Jovan Hristić, Vladimir Stamenković, Slobodan Selenić and Ratko Đurović. He writes for theatre, film, radio and TV. His best-known theatre plays are Saint Sava, General Milan Nedić, Serbian Drama, King Marko, It Is the New Age, One for the Road, Janez, etc. He won three Sterija Awards. The play It Is the New Age has been taken in the group of 10 best Serbian post-war dramas. He works as a Professor of Dramaturgy at “The Karić Brothers“ Art Academy. His plays have been translated into Russian, Macedonian, Polish, Greek, German and English. He lives and works in Belgrade.

Kovačević achieves real tension, this time not merely with the plot (…) The tension is achieved by the author’s original and strong words, sometimes sharp, sometimes humorous and at all times theatrically effective.

Aleksandar Milosavljević, The Glas Javnosti, Belgrade, 3 March 2002

(...) The originality of The Great Drama on stage of the National Theatre is in the fact that a young actor manages to carry the performance on his shoulders, from the opening to the last scene. He is not merely a new talent, a new occurrence, an acting master. (…) Such an actor appears ever so rarely; one believes him from the first to the last minute. In addition, his energy, acting expressiveness and transformation catches the whole auditorium. (Vuk Kostić) The other base of the production is the character of Vidosava Vučić interpreted by Ljiljana Blagojević: her interpretation reveals the strength and tragedy of a woman from Montenegrin mountains. Specially tragic character is Dušanka Stojanović’s Jelistina and the lyrical one is Helga by Sonja Kolačarić. (...) This is true of the production for which we can freely say that there is no weak link in the cast.
Milutin Mišić, The Borba, Belgrade, 27 February 2002 

(...) Ksenija Zečević found adequate musical references that led to interesting coordination in the live documentary acting. (…) Tanasije Uzunović, an actor in the prime of his career, has interpreted the character of Zarija Vučić impressively, with abundance of personal strength, transformations and fine tragic of pure style and authenticity. His wife in the play, Vidosava, is given in utmost directness of interpretation by Ljiljana Blagojević! (…) All attention has been concentrated on the young Vuk Kostić, who interprets Milorad with full and fanatical energy portraying the tragedy of the time. At the beginning and at end of the play, Miodrag Radovanović interprets with utmost conviction the character of the old and abandoned father of the family. (…) General Sava Vukotić Cicko, forcefully interpreted by Ljubivoje Tadić, is the character who gives momentum to this tragic story. He possesses a temper which grows stronger and stronger, his expressions are economical, he runs the place and only needs a single motion to capture reactions of viewers, he feels the irony of the time and he is convincing as a protagonist of such great events in life and on stage. (...)
On the other side, we have spontaneous and emotional Helga, interpreted by Sonja Kolačarić, and elderly, sad, discrete and sophisticated reminder of her wasted life, Ljiljana Gazdić. The Great Drama is comprehensive and critics will yet have to say a lot about it, but it is indisputably a great and demanding stage production of impressive force and despite everything, an epic, in which the company of the National Theatre recognises their potential.  
Hadži Petar Volk, The Ilustrovana Politika, Belgrade 23 March 2002

The last night’s performance of The Great Drama, written and directed by Siniša Kovačević, performed by more than fifty actors of the National Theatre in Belgrade, has been an impressive way to open 47th Sterija Pozorje Festival in Novi Sad. The theatregoers who witnessed this four-hour long performance on the main stage of the Serbian National Theatre were fascinated with superb acting in The Great Drama. (…)
M. Karadžić, The Politika, Belgrade, 3 June 2002

(...) The atmosphere amongst the audience when the performance ended resembled the stadium one; there was an incessant applause and shouts “Bravo”, “Bravo”, “Bravo” that lasted for almost fifteen minutes. It expressed gratitude for the performance given on the “Jovan Đorđević” Stage of the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad. (…)
Mikojan Bezbradica, The Politika Express, Belgrade, 6 June 2002

Awards:
VUK KOSTIĆ – Sterija Award for the Best Actor
LJILJANA BLAGOJEVIĆ – National Theatre Award
SINIŠA KOVAČEVIĆ – “Dragiša Kašiković” Award for the Best Text