On the final day of the 34th Marulić Days, during the Croatian Drama Festival, on Monday, April 28th, after the awards ceremony and the closing ceremony, as the last festival performance, out of competition, the ensemble of the National Theatre in Belgrade will present Đorđe Kosić's drama "A Lullaby For Aleksija Rajčić," directed by Jug Đorđević. This play revolves around a woman trapped in a cycle of violence, paradoxically finding ultimate freedom in prison. At last year's 68th Sterija Theatre Festival, "A Lullaby For Aleksija Rajčić" received the Sterija Award for Best Performance, the most prestigious award of the Serbian theater festival. The closing ceremony of the 34th Marulić Days at the Croatian National Theatre in Split, followed by the performance, begins at 8 p.m.
Aleksija Rajčić, the main protagonist of Đorđe Kosić's drama, didn't have many choices in her life. Like other women around her, whose lives serve as a model for what is expected of her in a patriarchal world, Aleksija's only option is to remain silent and endure. Death seems to be the only alternative to such a life. Through a specific stylistic approach in which all supporting characters are merged into a male and female chorus, the playwright highlights Aleksija and her experience, contrasting them with the depersonalized characters of this story, or rather, the society that ultimately becomes the biggest obstacle in this woman's search for happiness and freedom.
Dramaturge Tijana Grumić emphasizes: "In 2021, a total of 20 murders of adult women in family and partnership contexts were recorded in Serbia, as well as 16 attempted murders of women, and it is not possible to determine how many women died as a result of years of suffering from violence. Many of these women reported their abusers, but the system did not protect them. In such a system, which is diverse but least on the side of the victim, women often see no other way out but to 'take justice into their own hands.'"
The playwright Đorđe Kosić was born in 1996 in Belgrade. His play "It's Not July Now" was shortlisted in the Sterija Theatre's competition for original domestic drama texts in 2019. He won the award in the Sterija Theatre's competition for original domestic drama texts in 2020 for the drama "A Lullaby For Aleksija Rajčić." He has worked as a dramaturge on numerous productions in various theaters in Serbia. He wrote the screenplay for the feature-length musical film "Buč Kesidi: Euphoria Live," and his screenplay for the feature film "The Sun Never Sets Again" received financial support from the Serbian Film Center and is currently in post-production.
The role of Aleksija Rajčić is portrayed by Vanja Ejdus, with choir conductors Iva Milanović and Novak Radulović, and the choir includes actors: Sara Ristić, Nevena Milošević, Vera Zečević, Danijela Milošević, Mladen Lukić, and Goran Milošević.
In addition to director Jug Đorđević, well-known to the audience of the Croatian National Theatre in Split, where he recently staged Tennessee Williams's "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," the creative team includes composer Nevena Glušica, dramaturge Tijana Grumić, set designer Andrea Rondović, costume designer Velimirka Damjanović, choreographer Damjan Kecojević, Ljiljana Mrkić Popović responsible for stage speech, and ethnomusicological collaborator Danica Krstić. The performance lasts 75 minutes.