Holm portrays the universal struggle between rational and irrational in the modern account of Euripides story about expansion of Dionysian cult in Greece and opposition of Pentheus, the king of Thebes, to bacchanalias dedicated to people’s favourite and most frightful god, according to the classical author.
The director does not strive to follow the lead of classical mythology; instead, he tries to find comic moments in tragic events. Together with a superb cast, he finds suitable means of expression and music in 1960s, the decade when naïve opposition to government, free love, sex and rock and roll have turned into ultimate brutality of the War in Vietnam.
The National Theatre is on a German tour after four decades with the following cast: Nenad Stojmenović (Dionysus), Marko Nikolić (Tiresias), Tanasije Uzunović (Cadmus), Aleksandar Srećković (Pentheus), Slobodan Beštić (Messenger), Radmila Živković (Agave), Stela Ćetković (Alpha), Nela Mihailović (Beta), Jelena Helc (Gamma) and Daniela Kuzmanović (Delta).
Holm, one of the leading European directors, a director in the prestigious Royal Dramatic Theatre - Dramaten in Stockholm, is well known to Belgrade audiences. Namely, several years ago, the renowned Swedish theatre was on tour in Serbia and performed two productions in the National Theatre, Playing with Fire by August Strindberg and Macbeth by William Shakespeare, directed by Holm.
The Bacchae, premiered on 19 February 2010 in the National Theatre in Belgrade. The production is Holm’s first project as a director in Belgrade.
Previous tour of the National Theatre in Germany took place in 1971. The Theatre toured Bonn, Manheim, Remshart and Frankfurt with the production of Koštana by Stanković.
Mikojan Bezbradica