DRVENE PTICE

K-HNK – Guest Performance by the Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin “Wooden Birds” is the theatrical debut of Lidija Deduš, a versatile writer and poet with a distinctive literary style. In 2022, she received the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb Award for Best Contemporary Drama for this work. The play is based on a tragic true story: the murder of a sixteen-year-old girl in a small community in the 1980s. The passage of time allows both the author and the audience to take a deeper look at how femicide was treated forty years ago and how it is treated today. Premiered under the direction of Ivan Plazibat, “Wooden Birds” explores a broad range of social issues, including alcoholism, patriarchy, and the limitations of small-town life, where women are offered little beyond factory work after finishing elementary school. The protagonist is a minor named Nada, who struggles to fight for a better life despite the obstacles in her way. Alongside her, we follow the people closest to her and her neighbours, as the plot unfolds and unravels like a crime story. A vivid, naturalistic portrayal of human relationships and life in a small community presents the audience with a fascinating puzzle of life, combining harshness, tenderness and a longing for freedom. Lidija Deduš’s “Wooden Birds”, directed by Ivan Plazibat and produced as a co-production between the Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin and the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb as part of the K-HNK project, received…