Maja Ristić, a professor at the Faculty of Drama Arts:
It’s an excellent performance in every respect, in terms of acting, directing, it depicts the present-day phenomena: narcissism, pathology in family, psychopathy and the manipulation by the psychiatrists, by politicians, etc. Extraordinary in every respect.
Blaž Peršin, the director of a museum and a gallery in Ljubljana:
It was great. I’m from Ljubljana and I’m glad I’m a guest at Bitef, the program is amazing. Mr Tartuffe that we have seen tonight was really good and similar to many people in this society, especially to some who are in high places. Actors were great, directing too. I think that the director Igor Vuk Torbica has done a great job, while the acting was very personal and convincing.
Katarina Vještica, student:
It sets off in an interesting interaction between the actress Hana Selimović and the audience, but it becomes truly tiresome very quickly. And it becomes clear straight away that it’ll be yet another example of a classical drama theatre. The stage design is simple yet very interesting, but it doesn’t undergo any transformation whatsoever. The attempt to mix rhymes with contemporary language turns into an awkward and unjustified attempt at postmodernism. Still, although the motifs, the characters and their relationships remain vague, the end is somewhat more interesting. That’s when the director speaks up about why this representation is interesting in this moment, aside from scratching at the surface of feminism and family relationships, and the reason is, of course, our current political situation. We all know that this takes place in an institutional theatre and that no one in their right mind would talk openly about opposition. That might, actually, be the only upside of the performance, but it was carried out neither consistently enough nor innovatively enough. This is yet another proof that we find it hard to take a step away from the institutional theatre.
Milijana Šegrt, professor of Serbian:
It’s an example of a radical adaptation of classics, a clear shift to the present moment and into the present political context. The directing is very interesting and creative, the ending powerful and brimming with clear metaphors that reflect political situation and the attitude of the citizens towards the current Serbian government. Good actors, a lot of interaction with the audience. What I found particularly interesting is the decision to leave the worklight on during the most part of the performance, and a slow, barely noticeable transformation which, in the end, leaves the audience in the dark.
Aleksandar M. Bradić:
The performance uses clear elements that, in the first part make an allusion to the position of a conscious individual in a society, who is, due to his awareness, marked as insane, while the second part focuses on Tartuffe and his amazing ability to manipulate people. Saša Torlaković in the role of Tartuffe is simply perfect!
