Marked by renowned directors

As part of the Festival of World Theatre, between September 10th and October 5th, the stages of the Croatian National Theatre and the Zagreb Youth Theatre will feature some of the best plays from around the globe, directed by renowned European directors.

Between September 10th and October 5th, Zagreb will be host to the 11th edition of the Festival of World Theatre, which will feature the best plays from stages across the world. This year's festival will be opened by the play "Death in Venice", directed by Thomas Ostermeier and performed at the Croatian National Theatre by the actors of the Schaubuehne am Lehniner Platz theatre of Berlin. Zagreb audiences have already had an opportunity to watch Ostermeier's plays "Othello" and "Hamlet", as well as his interpretation of Ibsen's "Nora", whilst this year's play was inspired by Thomas Mann's novel and the famous film by Luchino Visconti. The play features beautiful music by Gustav Mahler and represents a combination of drama, dance and music theatre.

For the first time in Croatia, this year's festival will also feature the British theatre troupe Forced Entertainment, with their play "The Storm is Coming", directed by Tim Etchells. What makes the play interesting is the fact that actors interact with the audience in a major way. Visiting Zagreb for the second time are director Ivo Van Hove and the Toneelgroep Amsterdam, with Eugene O'Neil's play "Long Day's Journey Into Night". It is a family drama of modern life poisoned by alcoholism and other human weaknesses. Therefore, it is not surprising that the author insisted it be performed only after his death.

Just a few months after its world premiere, this year Zagreb will host the play "King is Coming", directed by Christoph Marthaler and performed by the Theatre Basel. The play features lots of singing so it is more of a musical rather than a classical theatre piece. Its main themes are kitsch, good and bad taste, and relationships between humans.

The program and play schedules for the 11th Festival of World Theatre can be found online at www.zagrebtheatrefestival.hr.