On 26^th February, our high school students attended a performance of Ubu Roi at the Belgrade Drama Theatre. The play will already be familiar to many, having been performed at the Atelje 212 theatre in the 1970s, with Zoran Radmilović in the iconic role of King Ubu. The drama was originally written by Alfred Jarry, but in this version a great deal has been added in order to hold the play up as a mirror to the current social and political situation in Serbia. King Ubu, instead of money, offers his people a place on a reality TV show; he despises culture, addresses the nation through live streams, and ultimately mocks so-called “woke” culture in the West. The production has been modernised cleverly and entertainingly, while still preserving the spirit and central message of the original play. The production is directed by Staša Koprivica, with Andrija Milošević in the role of Ubu and Paulina Manov as Mother Ubu. The cast also includes Aleksandar Jovanović, Ivan Zablaćanski, Milan Kolak, Bojana Stojković, Mina Nenadović, and others, who together make for a perfect ensemble for this kind of production. After the curtain call, members of our school’s Theatre Lovers’ Society headed to the bar to exchange impressions with the cast.

Relja Karanović IVb