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. In April 2024 she graduated from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana with a Master's degree in Dramaturgy and Performing Arts. During her studies she started working in Slovenian theatre as a dramaturg and playwright. To date, six of her original plays have been presented or published, both short plays and full-length works, in which she combines traditional dramatic dialogue with a relaxed, free style. In her texts, she often deals with the problems of her generation. In 2021, her play Skupaj sami ali jutri je v sanjah izgledal drugače was staged at the Slovene National Theatre Maribor under the direction of Nejc Gazvoda, for which she received the award for Best Young Playwright at the 51st Slovenian Drama Week. The play Jutri je v sanjah izgledal drugače was selected as a graduation reading for the subject History and Theory of Theatre and Film at the 2023 graduation exam at art high schools. In April 2023, her second full-length play, deklici, directed by Bor Ravbar, was premiered at the Glej Theatre in Ljubljana. The play deklici was nominated for the Slavko Grum Award at the 53rd Slovenian Drama Week. In September 2023, she participated as the playwright and dramaturge in the production of Elena Ferrante's play Lažljivi život odraslih at the Belgrade Drama Theatre, directed by Sebastijan Horvat. In June 2024, at the 59th Maribor Theatre Festival, she appeared as a performer in the international co-production Konec sveta v treh dejanjih, directed by Selma Spahić. Nina also works as a mentor of playwriting workshops, she led the drama workshop Mladi vzkrik as part of the programme Mladi zmaji and the workshop Misli mojih besed at the 54th Slovenian Drama Week.
About the director
Jure Srdinšek is finishing his undergraduate studies in Theatre Directing at AGRFT. During his studies, he worked as a director on, among others, Učne ure (2023), Razdejani (2023) and his graduation play based on Simona Semenič's text medtem ko skoraj rečem še ali prilika o vladarju in modrosti (2024). Since 2021 he has been a member of the editorial board of the student magazine Adept. As an assistant director, he worked on Avgust v okrožju Osage (MGL, 2021) and Pasji sin (SNG Drama Ljubljana, 2022). He has also co-created reading productions of contemporary Slovenian drama, including Delo in deklica I-V: drame tlačank by Nika Švab (2021), Zamrzovanje by Mance Lipoglavšek (2022), deklici by Nina Kuclar Stiković (2023), Prva beseda je mama by Tjaša Mislej (2024).
