posted by Cindy

TUTA Theatre Chicago is proud to announce an engagement with The National Theatre in Belgrade on the Serbian Premiere of Tony Kushner’s Homebody/Kabul!

National Theatre - Belgrade, Serbia

TUTA’s Artistic Director Zeljko Djukic will direct an October 25, 2009 opening. Marija Stojanovic’s new translation will feature actors from the National Theatre ensemble.

Accompanying Zeljko on the 11-hour flight to Belgrade to design the show will be longtime TUTA members Natasha Djukic (Costume Designer) and Keith Parham (Lighting Designer). TUTA's Executive Director, Jacqueline Stone, will also be making the trip to facilitate acting classes and educational programming in a partnership with the Belgrade Drama Arts School.

The National Theatre in Belgrade is the largest cultural institution in Serbia and the former Yugoslavia and is among the oldest theatres in the Balkans. It employs more than 800 people and has been producing theatre for more than 120 years. It has a long-standing relationship with the Royal Shakespeare Company in London, the Dramaten Teater in Stockholm, Bolshoi Teatar in Russia, and other flagship theatres around Europe.

Zeljko was invited to come “back” and bring a relevant, exciting, modern American play to direct. He selected Kushner's Homebody/Kabul. Zeljko says, “It is a beautiful play with an important and universal theme. Although it focuses on Afghanistan, in an indirect and interesting way it mirrors complex reality and history (both recent and distant) of the region where I come from. It is a risky and difficult play, but I feel strongly it's a right choice.” 

Belgrade’s National Theatre and the MacArthur Foundation’s International Connections Fund are generously supporting the project with the hope of fostering future collaborations between theatre artists in Chicago and Belgrade.