31st International Festival of Children's Theatres Subotica Program for Wednesday, September 25

On Wednesday, September 25 - the fourth day of the 31st International Festival of Children's Theatres Subotica - the audience will be able to watch two theatrical plays as part of the official competition program: The Green Mountain from Montenegro (12 p.m. at Subotica national Theatre’s Jadran stage) and The Magic Tree from Turkey (5:00 p.m. at Subotica national Theatre’s Jadran stage).

NGO Youth Theatre from Montenegro will perform The Green Mountain (written by Mila Mašović Nikolić and directed by Branko Ilić). Тhe play follows the story of Gorana – a girl on a mission to save the nature. Faced with a challenge, Gorana must confront the world of adults who forgot the importance of preserving nature along with its connection to man. The story tackles the relationship of children and adults towards the planet in regard to consumerism and material goods, i.e. awareness of environmental preservation, love towards the nature and the inevitability of global interdependence for a joint future on Earth. On emotional level, the play evokes the connection between people and the entire animate and inanimate world, the insufficiency of material abundance for happiness, as well as love, togetherness and respect. Through its educational, emotional and critical aspects, the play teaches children about climate change, environmental protection, how to influence the recovery of the planet's ecological status, and just how much the overall health of the planet depends on each of us individually.

The Cengiz Ozek shadow theatre from will perform The Magic Tree (written and directed by Cengiz Ozek) with a following premise: the character of Hacivat appears on stage calling for Karagoz. Their battle is the beginning of every show. Finally, Hacivat tells him that his irresponsible servant, Mercan is causing him trouble and wishes Karagoz would to discipline him. Karagoz finds this a silly request and, upon Mercan’s arrival, Karagoz tells him that he is too old to be disciplined by another person. Mercan says that he came a long way and doesn’t want to leave before they play a game. Karagoz finally agrees and the servant tells him to lie down and play dead. The servant now asks Karagoz a silly question “How many kilograms did you die?” Karagoz is punished each time he guesses the incorrect number. Karagoz finally pulls himself together and fights back. Mercan angrily puts a curse on Karagoz and a magical evil tree appears in front of his house. And then... to see what happens next, come to the show.

The play Simona the Monkey by La sonrisa del Lagarto theatre from Spain (written and directed by Marli Santana) is inspired by such values as friendship and admiration for nature. The play’s format is innovative for mixing the techniques of Chinese shadow theatre, puppets and narration and interpretation. Its magical world is created through dramatization of universal stories. This mix of techniques generates a modern show, ideal for the enjoyment of the whole family due to its creativity and artistic quality. Hanging from a branch of an ancient Baobab, Simona the monkey sleepily awaits the arrival of dawn to greet the king star, the Sun. She invites all the other animals that pass underneath her tree to behold the great spectacle, and to scare away the sleep and the loneliness of waiting, she asks them to tell her a story.

At Hotel Patria, a discussion session with Ewa Tomaszewska, Ph. D. (this year’s winner of the Oton Tomanić award) will be held at 4:00 p.m.

As part of the festival’s film program, Subotica’s Eurocinema will host a screening of a Danish animated film The Panda Bear in Africa at 11 a.m.

Admission to all festival events is free.

The detailed program is available online at: https://www.lutfestsubotica.net/.