The loser
Yugoslav Drama Theatre, Belgrade, Serbia
Director: Nataša Radulović
Serbian with Hungarian and English subtitles
1 hours 45 minutes.
While we ambitiously and devotedly strive for the ideal of a top professional, an unexpected encounter with the Best One harshly pushes us to confront the fact that we will never reach that level. What we don't know is that he himself is caught in the nightmare of his own realization that he can always do better and that no matter how close we approach the top, it is always one step away. Is there an absolute perfection? At what price? Is it possible to reach it without losing ourselves along the way? Interweaving the story of the legendary pianist Glenn Gould with the famous rivalry between Mozart and Salieri, the performance raises eternal questions about art, envy, perfection, but also about (not) coming to terms with one's own limits.
Awards and prizes of the performance:
NATAŠA RADULOVIĆ - Annual award of the Yugoslav Drama Theater for dramatization
ANA KRSTAJIĆ - Annual Award for music
TEODOR VINČIĆ - the "Nebojša Glogovac" Award for the best young actor of 2023, for the role of Glenn Gould
JOAKIM TASIĆ - Award for the best actor of the evening as chosen by the audience at the 15th International Theatre Festival ZAPLET 15 (Banja Luka) - The award for the best actor for the role of Wertheimer awarded by the jury of 15th International Theater Festival ZAPLET 15 - The “Miloš Žutić” Award given by the Association of Drama Artists of Serbia for the best acting performance of the year, for the role of Wertheimer
Cast
Glenn Gould – Teodor Vinčić
Wertheimer – Joakim Tasić
Noah – Stojša Oljačić
Mary / Mozart – Lenka Petrović
Díszlettervező: Jasmina Holbus
Jelmeztervező: Marija Marković Milojev
Koreográfus: Marta Bjelica
Zeneszerző: Ana Krstajić
Nataša Radulović
Selection of reviews:
In order to broach the topic of art, they decided to stage the most important novel of 20th century about the problems of art and artist. (...) This is a production by young artists with high ambition and great artistic drive. - Vreme (Belgrade)
Vinčić’s portrayal of Glenn Gould is more than clear-cut, with arguments for top notch success, albeit a tad excessively so, leaving not a shred of secret for the spectator to discover. Oljačić breathes life into full bloodied Noah, well aware of his own limitations while Joakim Tasić provides enough material about Wertheimer to illustrate an entire psychotherapy session. All three actors, together with Lenka Petrović, manage to achieve what many would have thought was “mission impossible”, an act of bringing together that which could never be joined together, helping Nataša Radulović, against all odds, to create a production that reaches peaks of emotion while leaving the spectators both puzzled and wonderstruck. Which is what theatre is all about, really. - Večernje Novosti (Belgrade)
Their music practice is presented in an interesting and skilful manner – in the form of rope jumping, push-ups, running, and other forms of physical exercises, symbolizing effort, work and sweat a person must invest in order to become a professional musician. - Nezavisne novine (Banjaluka)
