To swim upstream

Premiere 08.05.2014.,Student Cultural Center

The play To Swim Upstream speaks of the Theatre Mimarts path, of those who have been researching in it for a long time, of the young artists who have joined it recently, starting to develop their artistic paths, of mapping out contemporary views and alternative methods of work. A river is like a biography, from the source to the estuary: it appears naturally, it has its source, it grows, it sometimes sinks underground, sometimes it overflows its banks, it receives the water from other rivers and creeks, it has its islands, and eventually it flows into another body of water. Its force changes, it can be mild and fierce, it can be calm and tempestuous, it can be stopped and exploited, but it always has its course, its direction. Swimming in a tempestuous river is difficult, swimming upstream even more so. The play focuses on the phenomenon of flow, the uninterrupted movement of bodies, phenomena and objects. Stage becomes a space of the inner truth, talent and persistence of the artist, the spiritual path which sets out creativity and honest stories of each individual. Art has a power to change human lives, so this play is a conceptual analysis of the phenomenon of the life of an artist which raises questions for the audience and gives answers which multiply into new questions. Personal experience of the contemporary artist nowadays becomes very important for survival, both of the artist and the contemporary theatre. The road of the artist links creativity with spirituality, as it shows us how to plunge into the source.

Photo: Lidija Antonović

Concept and directed by Nela Antonović

Project manager: Jelena Beoković
Performers/ Authors of stories: Tanja Damjanovski, Anja Nikolić, Nikola Vranić and đurđa Pavlović
Music selection, voice live and flute: Teuta Asllani
Set and light design and camera live: Lidija Antonović
Costumes: Anđelija Marković
Video art: Kristina Drašković Bočkov and Lidija Antonović