Herceg Novi April Theatre Festival - HAPS

Herceg Novi - For ten years in succession the April Theater Festival (HAPS) has been held in the "town of Mimosa" organized by the Herceg Novi Theater. Once again the organizers made every effort to contribute to the cultural scene of Herceg Novi as best as they could, and to enrich the activities available to visitors to the Bay of Kotor and Montenegro. From 15th to 30th April the public were able to see seven productions and an evening with the dramatist Petar Kralj entitled "Between dream and reality". Alonside the main program there was a book launch and an exhibition of photos by the publicist Minja Bojanic, followed by a literary evening with Miras Martinovic and a performance by the HAPS Jazz club in the foyer of the Main Hall of the Park cultural centre in Herceg Novi. The Festival began with a performance of "Life from the beginning" by the Belgrade "Cult theater", produced by Stefan Sablic, with script by Miroslava Mocilovic. The drama, which in a witty and sarcastic way deals with the lives of the young generation, from whom their parents and the luminaries of relationships and life in the Balkans have literally stolen the past ten years or more, was performed by  Jelisaveta Seka Sablic, Marko Nikolic, Sonja Kolacevic and Mladen Andrejevic: "It represents the demystification of the old establishment, of their sacred ideals, and refusal to accept reality. This play is a very convincing settling of accounts with the way things were, which has left the young people of this part of the world without any hope for the future", said the director Stefan Sablic.

The following works were also on the HAPS program:

"The Love story about Henryk and Princess Henrietta", a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen performed by the Town Theater from Podgorica, directed by Ivana Bogicevic. The story is about wise Henryk who, thanks to his boldness and true love, succeeds in finding a way to the heart of a princess in spite of court intrigues and puritan attitudes .

"A Streetcar Named Desire", a drama by Tennessee Williams (Cat on a HotTin Roof, The Glass Menagerie, A Rose Tattoo and others) was directed by Zelimir Oreskovic from Zagreb for the Town Theater of Niksic.

"The little Book" is the most successful play by the Young People's Town Theater from Split who adapted a text by Mark Udovic (1877 - 1947). The Theater from Split has already made a guest appearance in the Bay of Kotor under the auspices of the Theater without Borders project in the town of Kotor which is a founder member of the project based on cooperation between three towns in the region - Mostar - Split - Kotor.

"Miss Julie" is a performance with text by August Strindberg directed by Stevo Zigon for the National Theater in Belgrade, performed by Ivana Zigon, Milenko Zablacanski and Elizabeta Djordjevska.

"The Caretaker" was performed by the National Theater from Kikinda, directed by Dragan Ostojic, with text by Harold Pinter.

Nebojša Mandic

HAPS Program