The drama Oleanna by the American playwright, writer and director David Mamet tells the story of a student who accuses a professor of sexual harassment, but he is sure that he did nothing wrong. The play is coming to the stage of SNG Nova Gorica.
The premiere of the play, which was created under the direction of the Novi Gorica actor Radoš Bolčina, will be premiered on the small stage of the Slovenian National Theater (SNG) in Nova Gorica trees at 8 p.m.
Worried and insecure student Carol (Tina Resman kg) visits Professor John (Radoš Bolčina) to discuss with him why she failed his course. The conversation takes an awkward turn when the professor, in discussing his philosophical views and personal problems, utters certain thoughts that can be understood in different ways. In addition, he transforms from an initially callous, lofty authority figure into a carelessly overly empathetic mentor.
At the next meeting, a much more self-confident female student accuses him of sexual harassment. And after more of her accusations, supported by a group of activists, the professor loses his chances of getting a title, his career begins to collapse. He is convinced that he has done nothing wrong, but she feels hurt and demands compensation, the content was summarized in the theater in Novi Gore.
“While preparing the performance, I realized that I know that I know nothing. That life is colorful, that it is not black and white, that there are a thousand and one between these extremes realitythat all beings and their longings are their own,” said Bolčina. He also added that he is sure that the theme of the drama is still very relevant, even though Mamet’s work dates back to 1992. Otherwise, two years later, Mamet turned his dramatic text into a film with the same title, in which performed William H. Macy and Debra Eisenstadt.
Sexual violence of a professor or narcissistic disorder of a student?“I tried to deal with the role freely and unencumbered, non-judgmental towards the text, which seems to me to be problematic in itself. That’s why I perceived the whole thing as a kind of challenge and I’m actually grateful that I was able to enter it,” said Tina Resman, adding that studying Mamet’s text was challenging.
“Are we talking about the sexual violence of a professor or the narcissistic disorder of a student who wants to destroy a position of authority because of a bad grade? Personal transformation is undoubtedly experienced by both characters, but the question is whether they will endure it. Mamet opens up important questions and sets up a mirror of humanity, discusses the personal limits of man and puts us on the steps of relationships with strangers or even our closest ones – what do our actions cause, what consequences do they bear – which in the end results into a single question: what kind of person am I and what kind of person do I want to be?” reminded the actress.
One performance per year, which they propose and prepare household playersThe performance was created in an independent production of the theater in Novi Gore. According to the artistic director of SNG Nova Gorica Marko Bratuš the idea for this kind of production was born in “coronal season”, when the schedules were disrupted in the theater, the actors consequently had a bit more free time and were still able to perform something in this way.
“Also, within my program, not everyone can artistically experience what they would like, and my own production was a kind of drain, where certain things can still happen. And considering that this program of ours was quite successful, we then kept it,” added Bratuša. Thus, they perform one work per year, which is proposed and prepared by local actors. Bratuša says that there are enough proposals, they get at least two or three every year, so “that their proponents have to wait somehow in line“.
He translated Mamet’s text into Slovenian Zdravka Dušathe light designer is Matjaž Bajcsound designer Vladimir Hmeljakand scenic elements and props Gorazd Prinčič.
Source: Rtvslo
