December 18, 2018 - "Little Pirate", the new theater play in the production of the Tivat Culture Center and Podgorica City Theater will premiere at the small scene DTV "Partizan" in Tivat on Thursday, 20 December starting at noon.
The director Milan Karadzic made this theatre piece on the motifs of the famous novel for children "Little Pirate" by one of the most famous ex-YU authors of children's and literature for youth, Anto Stanicic from Tivat. A piece of work that for decades was an indispensable part of elementary school readings in former Yugoslavia, in Montenegro does not find its place on the list of compulsory lessons in the school anymore, so setting up "Little Pirate" in the dramatization of Aleksandra Glovacki on the “boards that signify life", even more importantly.
"Fairy tales serve to grow up with you. In recent times, we would educate ourselves with fairy tales, so it is wonderful that we return domestic fairy tales to Boka through this show," said Tivat Culture Center’s director Neven Stanicic. He added that he was greatly pleased that in this way “we are bringing back Anto Stanicic to children and adults". The director of the Podgorica City Theater Ivana Mrvaljevic said that the initiative to set "Little Pirate" as a fine theatre piece came from them because they started a special segment of work called "Montenegrin Classics for Children" two years ago, from which already came the piece "Blue Treasure”.
"I'm glad we have done this piece together with the Culture Centre Tivat here in the conditions that Tivat has, unlike our home. It is important that we never forget that Montenegro is part of the Mediterranean circle and that it belongs to Podgorica as well as Tivat, so here's another common piece in that direction," Mrvaljevic said.
Director Milan Karadžić, who returns to the stage scene of Tivat, which he has in some way launched with his "Bokelian Theater Trilogy" (Bokeški D-mol, Betula U Malu Valu and Innominato), emphasised that it was not easy to translate a novel into a play which has musical elements.
"Before that novel, one could make a costly, good adventurous movie, but it was the key to the genre in which we set it up as a theatre show - a musical with many young people performing. It's not a "serious" classic musical with a symphony orchestra and a chord that is most commonly used in Belgrade's Terazije Theater but is a play that has all the essential elements of music. Also, this piece has elements of comedies and melodrama and is a true play for all “from 7 to 77 years of age". We have done our best to make a play that will live long and be loved by the public, as was the case with the “Novela od Ljubavi” ("Love Romance")," Karadzic said. According to him, it was very challenging to work with the ensemble with about 30 actors and dancers, lots of dance songs, songs, and action scenes, but the choreographer Nebojša Gromilić did a great job in all segments of the play.
According to everyone in the team, seventeen-year-old Miloš Kašćelan from Kotor in the role of a small pirate - Miljan, was the real revelation with his big talent and remarkable energy. Along with him, young actors Pavel Popović, Jelena Đukić and Marija Maša Labudović have accompanied their experienced colleagues Goran Slavić, Marija Đurić, Jelena Simić, Branka Femić Šćekić, Katarina Krek, and Miloš Pejović. Branko and Pavle Ilić, Dubravka Drakić, Omar Bajramspahić, Sanja Popović, and Ivan Kašćelan are also in the acting team. Children and members of the NGOs Drama Studio "Empty Space" from Kotor, the NGO Acting School "Maska" from Herceg Novi, the Tivat Youth Club’s Acting School, the Tivat's Dance Club “Bellissima” and the Folk Ensemble "Nikola Đurković" from Kotor also participate in the play. Boris Maksimović, Dubravka Drakić, and Neven Staničić signed the scenography, while Irena Popović composed the music.
"Culture Centre Tivat brings this show for all generations. “Little Pirate" is a family adventure that we have just been watching at cinemas. I believe that it is important for our children to find that there is "Little Pirate" written by Anto Stanicic, that we have heroes among us and that every mountain around us has some secret and some story we should save. We should proudly play our stories and fight for our heroes, for the characters that can best be presented by us," said Dubravka Drakić, stressing that the play "Little Pirate" is a testimony to the cultural richness of our space.
