In an exceptionally successful theatre season of 2023/2024, Mini teater premiered seven plays: Little Vampire Goes to School (director: Jernej Potočan / co-production: Jewish Cultural Center Ljubljana), The Lehman Trilogy (director: Peter Petkovšek), The Snowsister (director: Luka Marcen), Whatever Happened to Bette Davis and Joan Crawford (director: Nikola Ljuca / co-production: Teater Tivoli, Cankarjev dom), The Wolf and the Goatlings (director: Robert Waltl), The Dreamers or A Love Story in the Revolution (director: Bor Ravbar), and Get off My Back (director: Matjaž Pograjc).
In addition to premieres, we performed a total of 184 repetitions, including 107 in the children's program and 77 in the post-drama program. We conducted 73 performances on tours in Slovenia and abroad (Croatia and Austria). Nearly 25,500 visitors attended Mini teater's performances this season, and we also implemented a support program for students (attending shows and educational mornings - discussions after performances).
As part of the visual program, Mini teater presented the light installation "Holly Hell" by Mark Požlep, the exhibition From Sketch to Puppet: The Nutcracker / Aleksander Januškévič and Ljudmila Skitovič at Bežigrad gallery, and the exhibition Exhibition #2 Mini teater 25 years / demo version - Spatial installation of the Open Archives series at the iLabGT22 within the Maribor Theatre Festival 2024.
We also organized the 9th International Festival House of Tolerance - House of Others, as well as numerous concerts, book presentations, film screenings, lectures, workshops, celebration Križevniška neighbour day and traditional Grandpa Frost parades in Ljubljana.
In Mini teater, this season featured SSG Trieste with three performances of the play Of Snow and Love, the puppet group Kakodolgoše KPD Šmihel from Austria with the play The Egg, SNV Zagreb with the play Dada Jok State, the Belgrade theater Dadov from Serbia with the play Parents, and KunstTeatar and artistic organization T25 with the play Jackpot.
Nataša Barbara Gračner received the award for Best Actress at the 36th Gavella Evenings Festival 2023 in Zagreb, where we performed our successful play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. The play Angels in America by Tony Kushner, directed by Ivica Buljan and performed by Robert Waltl, Timon Šturbej, Saša Pavlin Stošić, Domn Valič, Nejc Cijan Garlatti, Nina Violić, Petja Labović, and Barbara Vidovič, was staged in the competitive program of the 59th Maribor Theatre Festival.
It is important to emphasize that in the 2023/2024 season, we also performed a large number of our previous plays, such as Angels in America, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, La Machine de Turing, Stories from Beehive Front-Boards, The Diary of Anne Frank, Love's End, Shopping and Fucking, The Jungle Book, A Visit to the Sun, Puss in Boots, Three Little Pigs, The Frog King, The Little Match Girl, The Shit Book: The Poop Book, Carrot Dwarf, The Nutcracker, Tim the Tailor.
In this season, we have realized the following program units: production, post-production and tours throughout Slovenia, international tours, guest performances of other theaters in our theater, support program for students (attending performances and post-show discussions), and other programs.
In the year 2024, Mini teater celebrates 25 years of its operation. Therefore, until the end of the year, we have many premieres and numerous events ahead to celebrate the anniversary of our theater.
The 2024/2025 season will open with the play Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill, directed by Ivica Buljan and performed by Marko Mandić, Alma Prica, Rok Juričić, and Luka Grbić. Vid Adam Hribar was responsible for the text adaptation and dramaturgy, Ana Savić Gecan as the costume designer, Aleksandar Denić as the set designer, Mitja Vrhovnik Smrekar as the composer, Elvis Butković as the lighting designer and Gabrijel Lazić as the assistant director. The play was created in collaboration with the Istrian National Theatre Pula, where it premiered on June 14, 2024, and the premiere at Mini teater will be on August 28, 2024. The performance will have repeat showings on August 29 and 30 at 8 p.m. at Mini teater.
About the performance:
Artistic director Ivica Buljan presents the new play Long Day's Journey Into Night by Eugene O'Neill. The plot follows the Tyrone family through a single day, revealing the dynamics among family members and their inner struggle with the demons of the past. The drama portrays four individuals facing harsh truths while uncovering their deep connections to one another. Eugene O'Neill envisioned this play as an honest testament to his own youth, illuminated by his mother's addiction and his father's alcoholism. This emotional odyssey, which the author intentionally withheld until his death, is now brought to life on stage, exploring themes such as addiction, self-deception, and unfulfilled dreams.
Following this will be the premiere of the play The Mermaid, written by Nina Kuclar Stiković and directed by Jure Srdinšek, which will have its world premiere on September 27, 2024, at the Mini teater. The performance is part of the "Young Author" program. The cast includes Gaja Filač, Julija Klavžar, Julita Kropec, Svit Stefanija, and Mina Švajger, with set design by Lucija Zucchiati, costumes by Claudi Sovrè, music by Martin Vogrin, proofreading by Nina Žavbi and lighting design by Domen Lušin.
About the performance:
The Mermaid is the second dramatic text in a developing trilogy of plays that reinterpret Andersen's fairy tales by the young playwright Nina Kuclar Stiković. The first, Girls, was staged in April 2023 at the Glej Theatre.
This fragmented dramatic text interrogates how to establish a stable intimate relationship in a contemporary, precarious, consumer society, taking the time and patience for fellow humans, and raises the question of who or what we would give our voice to today. Four protagonists, women in their late twenties, grapple with societal expectations regarding their intimate and professional lives while also challenging each other as "best friends" regarding their expectations of friendships and partners. From summer love to a nine-year relationship, Mermaid is a comedic melodrama with songs that questions how the disintegration of traditional gender roles and rising individualism affect our intimate lives. The text delves into the emotional core of individuals who, with each love, either gain or lose connections. The development of this dramatic text was supported by the Ministry of Culture as part of the funding for the young author's original work.
Following this will be the premiere of the play The Ballad of the Trumpet and the Cloud by Ciril Kosmač, directed by Žiga Hren and featuring Neža Dvorščak, Alja Krhin, Marko Rafolt and Jure Šimonka. The premiere is scheduled for October 10, 2024, at the Mini teater. This performance is a co-production with AGRFT and will also serve as Žiga Hren's master's thesis. The artistic team includes dramaturg Iva Štefanija Slosar, set designer Karolína Kotrbová, costume designer Nina Čehovin, sound designers Lucas Carboni Kopše and Žiga Hren, lighting designer Domen Lušin and proofreader Martin Vrtačnik.
We will continue with the premiere of the play The Art of Survival, whose concept leader, director, and set designer is Inan Sven Du Swami. The text was written by Zala Mojca Jerman Kuželički, who will also be responsible for the dramaturgy. The cast will include Mojca Špik, Tadej Pišek, Tines Špik, and Anamaria Bagarić. The premiere is scheduled for October 26, 2024, at the Mini teater. The creative team will also feature composer Martin Vogrin, costume designer Claudi Sovrè, choreography advisor Branko Potočan, puppet technology and set design by Larisa Kazič, and set construction by Anže Bizjak. This performance is part of the "Young Author" program.
In a co-production with SNG Maribor, we will revive the play Hansel and Gretel, which was adapted by Andrej Rozman Roza from the cult Grimm fairy tale. The production will be directed by Robert Waltl, with the premiere planned for November 15, 2024, at SNG Maribor.
Following this will be the author project by director Jernej Potočan titled One Last Sleep, featuring actors Filip Mramor, Svit Stefanija and Ena Kurtalić. The dramaturgy will be handled by Varja Hrvatin, with set design by Dan Pikalo, costumes by Nika Dolgan and lighting design by Domen Lušin. The premiere is scheduled for November 28, 2024, at the Mini teater.
Actor, puppeteer, director and co-founder of the Mini teate, Robert Waltl, will celebrate 35 years of artistic creation with the play Odessa Stories by Isaac Babel, directed by Robert Smolik. This performance is a co-production between the Mini teater and the Jewish Cultural Center Ljubljana.
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of our theatre, we will also revive the first performance ever staged at the Mini teater, the puppet show The Fabulous Adventures of the Apprentice Hlapich. This production had its premiere on November 18, 1999, when the Mini teater was still located at Ljubljana Castle. The production was directed by the founders and leaders of the Mini Teater, Ivica Buljan and Robert Waltl, who also acted in the performance and animated the puppets.
