THE RICH CRY TOO

Miroslav Krleža’s Gospoda Glembajevi (The Glembays), directed by  Jagoš Marković, Atelje 212, Belgrade

By: Sandro Siljan

After it hasn’t been played in Belgrade theatres for forty years, Miroslav Krleža’s Gospoda Glembajevi (The Glembays) was put to stage during previous theatre season at Atelje 212 under the direction of Jagoš Marković. During the presentation of the theatre’s program, for the season named nEXt YU, the theater manager Kokan Mladenović said that he had chosen this author because “in the times of tabloid cultural values, in the times of demise of any criteria, it is very important to stage Miroslav Krleža not only because of his creative opus, but also because of all of his intellectual and social engagement that can serve as a reference we should look up to.” When the season’s theme is in question, The Glembays present an interesting choice because they, thanks to their presence in school reading lists and Antun Vrdoljak’s film adaptation, have become sort of a common point, and the theme of decadence of the petty bourgeois who got rich by stealing and taking advantage of the society is more than present in all countries of the region.

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