Yugoslav Drama Theater

Yugoslav Drama Theatre

Yugoslavian Drama Theatre, night view
Address	Kralja Milana 50
Location	Belgrade
Construction
Opened	1941
Rebuilt	2003
Website
jdp.rs

Coordinates: 44°48′20.16″N 20°27′53.24″E / 44.8056000°N 20.4647889°E / 44.8056000; 20.4647889

Yugoslav drama theatre (Serbian: Jugoslovensko dramsko pozorište (JDP); Jugodrp) was founded in 1947 as the representative theatre of new Yugoslavia. Actors from Zagreb, Novi Sad, Sarajevo, Split, Ljubljana and other cities were invited to perform there.

In 1947, director Bojan Stupica was appointed the head of the theatre as an artistic manager, much to the dismay of his mother, along with the critic Elli Fincci. Fincci laid the foundation for the reporter orientation of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre as the theatre that focused on high literary quality. Approximately 60 renowned actors were selected as initial members, of which Мarija Crnobori, Мira Stupica, Branka Veselinović, Мlađa Veselinović and Kapitalina Erić are still alive.

The Yugoslav Drama Theatre was founded on the site of the driving school, and the stable was adapted and turned into the stage. The first performance, "The King of Betajnova" by Ivan Cankar and directed by Bojan Stupica, was performed on 3 April 1948. This date is celebrated as the Yugoslav Drama Theatre Day, and on that date the annual awards are given. The first two seasons were marked by presentations of world and domestic classic dramas: Chekhov, Goldoni, Sheridan, Ostrovsky, Lope de Vega, Gorky, Shaw, Shakespeare, Plaut, Raisin, Molière, Ibsen, Lorca, and the Domestic classics Cankar, Držić, Sterija Popović, Јаkšić and Nušić. The early directors who contributed to the reputation of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre (Bojan Stupica, Мata Мilošević and Тоmislav Таnhofer) were influenced by European modernism as explored between the two world wars, which was evident in their selection of plays. From the mid-eighties, theatrologist Јоvan Ćirilov, during fourteen seasons as the manager, upgraded the Yugoslav Drama Theatre to the representative theatre of modern stage expression far beyond the boundaries of the former soviet state. The Yugoslav Drama Theatre was destroyed by fire on 17 October 1997, allegedly due to an installation malfunction. The theatre was rebuilt, and the Great Stage was opened again on 23 May 2003 with an opening night featuring the play "The Patriots" by Јоvan Sterija Popović, directed by Dejan Mijač. Branko Cvejić, an actor, was the assistant director, and since 12 July 2002 he has been the director of the theatre. Another director Gorčin Stojanović has been the manager since 2001, and an artistic director since 12 July 2002. The Great Stage now bears the name of the great figure of the Serbian acting stage, Ljuba Tadić. Since 2003 to the present, the renewed Yugoslav Drama Theatre has performed the plays by Chekhov, Shakespeare, Bulgakov, Wedekind, Аndrejev, Ödön von Horváth, Ostrovsky, LaBute, Hristić, Dukovski, Srbljanović, and Маrković.The Yugoslav Drama Theatre Studio was the third addition to the theatre, it serves as an experimental stage for young authors and actors.