Bitef

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Tribune: CHEKHOV ON STAGE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Moderator: Ivan Medenica Of all the classics of the dramatic literature, A.P. Chekhov presents a bigger enigma than Shakespeare or Moliere. All three are never off the stages of the world; all three can fall under Jan Kott's formula that they are our contemporaries, yet it seems that the reason why is Chekhov of all the dramatists of the turn of the previous century the most attractive for modern directors and audiences remains highly moot. Bitef has had a play by Chekhov on its programme almost every year, from the very first festival in 1967 when it presented a completely new interpretation of Three Sisters by the Czech director Otomar Krejča. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Chekhov's birth 44th Bitef 2010 invited two representative productions: Uncle Vanya directed by the late German director Jurgen Gosch and Three Sisters by the Russian director Yuri Pogrebnichko. Both offer a new reading of the Russian classic. It is especially noteworthy that the Moscow production shows that even the Russian directors no longer look for the key for a modern approach to their classic in the dogmatically interpreted system of Stanislavski and have begun to explore new paths. Moreover, 44th Bitef organizes a discussion about Chekhov in the Twenty-First Century. We have invited noted authorities on Chekhov in order to hear what they think about the "Chekhov mystery". Several foreign and Belgrade directors and connoisseurs of his opus, theatrologists and literary historians will talk about their experiences with Chekhov within the set subject matter. Jovan Čirilov Participants: Geogrge Banu,Tomi Janežič, Elena Kovalskaya, Erik Lacascade, Dejan Mijač, Nikita Milivojević, Yuri Pogrebnichko, DmitryTrubochkin, Predrag Štrbac