THEATRICAL PLAY: Mara & Kata

Tuesday, August 11

Church of the Holy Spirit, 9:30 p.m.

 

 

 

Author: Saša Božić

In collaboration with:

Nataša Dangubić as Mara

Doris Šarić Kukuljica as Kata

 

 

Broadcasting of the Croatian Radio Dubrovnik’s famous show At Home With the Gossipmongers started in the 1960s, and many of the citizens still remember how the streets of Dubrovnik would empty during its broadcast. In every episode, the characters of Kata and Mara, played by actresses Žuža Egreny and Desa Begović Mrkušić, were paid a visit by Uncle Pero (played by Mr. Tomo Šuljak) and this famous trio would comment on recent events in the city in the form of  typical Dubrovnik small talk. The play Mara & Kata was inspired by this popular radio show and accounts of Desa Begović Mrkušić from her book The Gossipmongers of Dubrovnik; it is a story about the mentality of Dubrovnik and the character of its citizens, full of bitter-sweet elements, primarily those that revise and enrich our memories. The play revisits different epochs in Dubrovnik’s history in a non-linear way, taking us from 2020 to 2000, and afterwards into the distant future. Nataša Dangubić and Doris Šarić-Kukuljica take us on an absurd journey through the City from the end of the 1990s until the present day, the City that today sails towards its uncertain future.

 

Saša Božić graduated in Theater Directing and Radio Broadcasting in 2006 from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. During his studies he was also educated in the the field of contemporary dance and choreography. He perfected his education at numerous seminars, workshops and residency programs in Croatia and abroad. He is a Assistant Profesor of Stage Movement at the Deparment of Acting of the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. In 2017, Saša Božić was appointed Assistant to Dubrovnik Summer Festival’s Artistic Director for theater program.

 

Nataša Dangubić graduated in Acting from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb and soon after graduation she became a member of the &TD Theater ensemble from Zagreb. Today, she is a member of the ZKM Theater ensemble and has achieved a large number of notable roles in performances at Croatian, European and world festivals. Nataša Dangubić often performs in theater plays by Saša Božić, Oliver Frljić, Tomi Janežić, Bobo Jelčić, Joško Juvančić, Ivica Kunčević, Miran Kurspahić, Paolo Magelli, Franka Perković, Nataša Rajković, and others. She often appears in films, as well as in television series.

 

Doris Šarić Kukuljica graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb in 1982, and since 1992 she has been a permanent member of the ZKM ensemble. She has played more than 130 roles in theater, and a smaller number for television and film production. She has recorded more than 400 radio dramas and radio shows for the Croatian Radio, in which she has interpreted poetry and prose. Doris Šarić Kukuljica is Associate Professor at the Department of Acting at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. She has received numerous awards at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, including the Croatian Acting Award for the role of Jela in Tužnoj Jele [Sad Jela] directed by Ivica Kunčević, the role of Jela in Equinox directed by Joško Juvančić, the Orlando Award for the role of Hekuba in the play Hekuba [Hecuba] directed by Ivica Boban and Orlando for the role of Mara in Geranium directed by Marina Pejnović.