Plays for Foreigners

The Zagreb Youth Theater has made it possible for those who do not understand the Croatian language to also be a part of Zagreb’s cultural life by including a cycle of plays performed for foreigners to their regular program.

On March 9th, the actors of the Zagreb Youth Theatre performed the first play from the cycle of plays for foreigners; the new hit show “Fireflies” (Krijesnice), written by Tena Štivičić and directed by Janusz Kica. This was the first time in Croatia that English subtitles were used in plays in such a way. This is the play that the Zagreb Youth Theatre will use to represent Croatia at the renowned festival of “New European Drama” in Wiesbaden in June.

The Zagreb Youth Theater has made it possible for those who do not understand the Croatian language to also be a part of Zagreb’s cultural life by including a cycle of plays performed for foreigners to their regular program. The increasing number of foreigners who, until now, chose not to attend theater plays because of the language barrier will now have the opportunity to more easily become integrated into their new cultural environment. The plays for foreign guests will be held on a regular basis, once a month. After the success of “Fireflies”, the play titled “From the Other Side” (S druge strane) by Nataša Rajković and Bobo Jelčić has been announced for April. The Zagreb Youth Theater’s actors will tour for the entire season with this play, participating in festivals in Heidelberg, Varna, Cividale, Helsinki and others.

The idea to initiate the cycle of plays for foreigners was born after the successful performance of the play called “The Night Sings Its Own Songs” (Noć pjeva pjesme svoje), based on the text by the Norwegian, Jon Fosse, which was organized by the Norwegian embassy for its members and representatives of international institutions and foreign delegations in Croatia. Due to the notable success of that performance, the Zagreb Youth Theater promptly included the cycle of plays for foreigners into their regular repertoire.