An original project by Zlatko Paković, titled Citizen Matijanić and subtitled as A Mystery of Liberal Democracy, was presented at a press conference at the Croatian National Theatre in Split. The drama about the death of journalist Vladimir Matijanić, a tragic event that sparked great controversy in the Croatian public sphere three years ago, will premiere performed by the HNK Split Drama on June 21 on the open-air Plinara stage.
The roles are played by Luka Čerjan, Katarina Romac, Andrea Mladinić, Zdeslav Čotić, Tajana Jovanović, and Marija Šegvić.
“Vladimir Matijanić was not only a great journalist but also exceptionally empathetic. This play is a tribute to this great man,” emphasized Vicko Bilandžić, manager of the HNK Split, at the beginning of the conference. “The collaboration with Zlatko Paković was exceptionally sincere, open, deep, polite, professional, beautiful, and instructive.”
Zlatko Paković explained: “The play is a three-act dramatic symphony offering three different perspectives on the death of Vladimir Matijanić. The first act shows death through the perspective of loved ones, especially through the eyes of a pet raven. It presents a divine view of the loss of an exceptional, beautiful, smart, good, and above all honest man. The second act offers an internal view of the dying person, where reality and phantasmagoria intertwine in moments of death agony, revealing an ideology-structured intimate world. This world is phantasmagorical, as this approach to death always questions where reality is lost, where something becomes unreal. The third act views death from the perspective of the system of power, describing it as murder through a liberal democracy system that punishes unruly citizens.”
Luka Čerjan, playing the titular role of Vladimir Matijanić, shared: “The work was very interesting to us, this is different from all the plays we have done until now. I play Matijanić’s role which appears in the second act, in that limbo between life and death where all these fairy-tale, phantasmagoric beings appear. My guiding thread as an actor was his investigative journalism, which my character does not relent until the last moment, questioning everything around him.”
Andrea Mladinić remarked: “For me as an actress, the third part is the most interesting, where we have the opportunity to play ruthless, 'successful' people from the system that crushes us all. Personally, it gave me a new perspective on what success means and what it takes to be successful, how much of one’s self needs to be trampled to achieve success.”
Katarina Romac added: “Working on this play brought me closer to performative expression more than any project so far. The questions of the relationship between talent, success, and our ideal system of liberal democracy are the fundamental questions this text poses.”
Zdeslav Čotić commented: “In the third part, I play a power broker who defends the system of liberal democracy and puts it on a pedestal. This very system has its advantages, because, as we concluded during rehearsals, we couldn’t create such a text in a different, less free system.”
Marija Šegvić shared: “From the first reading of the text, I was thrilled to work in such a play that raises questions not only for the audience but also for those of us involved, questions about the fight for truth and the courage we need to live that truth.”
Damir Avdić, the author of the stage music, noted: “I am sure there will be much discussion about this play, although I know that the society we live in would prefer this topic to remain in the crime reports and not be discussed further.”
After the premiere on June 21, the play will be repeated on June 23, 24, and 25, starting at 9 PM.