About the performance
The Mermaid is the second play in a trilogy of plays reinterpreting Andersen's fairy tales by young playwright Nina Kuclar Stiković. The first, deklica (Little Girl), was staged at Glej Theatre in April 2023.
A fragmented play, The Mermaid questions how to establish a stable intimate relationship in a modern, overworked, consumerist society, how to take the time and patience to care for one's fellow human beings, and raises the question of who or what we would give our voice for today. This is what the four protagonists, women in their late twenties, are facing as they are pressured by societal expectations of their intimate and career lives, and as "best friends" they often challenge each other about what they expect from their friends and partners. From summer love to a nine-year relationship, The Mermaid is a comic melodrama with songs that question how our intimate lives are affected by the breakdown of traditional gender roles and growing individualism.
The development of the play was supported by the Ministry of Culture as part of the funding of the young author's oeuvre.
About the author
Nina Kuclar Stiković was born in Ljubljana in 1996. She graduated in dramaturgy and performing arts from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television at the University of Ljubljana in 2019 and has been working as a dramaturg and playwright in Slovenian theatre since then. In 2021, her play Jutri je v sanjah izgledal drugače (Tomorrow Looked Different in Dreams) was staged at the Slovene National Theatre Maribor, for which she received the award for best young playwright at the 51st Slovenian Drama Week. The play Jutri je v sanjah izgledal drugače (Tomorrow Looked Different in Dreams) was selected as a final exam reading for the History and Theory of Theatre and Film course at the 2023 graduation exams in the arts high schools. In April 2023, her second full-length play, deklici (Little Girls), was premiered at the Glej Theatre in Ljubljana. The play deklici (Little Girls) was nominated for the best new play in Slovenia at the 53rd Slovenian Drama Week. Since 1 July 2023 she has been self-employed in culture as a playwright, dramaturg and scriptwriter. Most recently (premiere 29 September 2023), she participated as playwright and dramaturg in the production of Lažljivi život odraslih (The Lying Life of Adults) at the Belgrade Drama Centre, directed by Sebastijan Horvat.
