Festival Borštnikovo srečanje 2024

The Borštnik Ring Award expert jury (Blaž Lukan, Alen Jelen, Nataša Matjašec Rošker, Aleš Novak in Ana Perne) has decided that the Borštnik Ring 2024 will be awarded to the actor Branko Šturbej.

Competition Programme expert jury (Gregor Butala, Darko Lukić, Nikita Milivojević, Natasha Tripney, Barbara Zemljič) awarded the following prizes: 

Borštnik Grand Prix for Best Production
Angels in America directed by Nina Rajić Kranjac, produced by the Mladinsko Theatre.

Borštnik Award for Best Director
Jan Krmelj for his directing of Rapture in the production of the Ljubljana City Theatre.

Borštnik Award for Young Actress
Diana Kolenc for the role of Celeste in the play Rapture, produced by the Ljubljana City Theatre.

4 Borštnik Awards for Acting

Nataša Keser for her role in the play Angels in America, produced by the Mladinsko Theatre.

Jernej Gašperin for the role of Noah in the play Rapture, produced by the Ljubljana City Theatre.

Anja Novak for the role of Harper in the play Angels in America and Paula in Women as Lovers, both produced by the Mladinsko Theatre.

Borut Veselko for the role of Jocko in the play Rainy Day in Gurlitsch, co-produced by the Prešeren Theatre Kranj and the Ptuj City Theatre.

Borštnik Award for Set Design

Lin Japelj for the play Rapture, produced by the Ljubljana City Theatre.

Borštnik Award for Dramatic Text (Original Play)

Živa Bizovičar and Nik Žnidaršič for the original concept and adaptation of the text dot the play Assault, produced by the Celje City Theatre

Borštnik Award for Costume Design

Marina Sremac for the play Angels in America, produced by the Mladinsko Theatre.

Borštnik Award for Music

Val Fürst and Pavel Panon for Rapture, produced by the Ljubljana City Theatre.

Special Borštnik Jury Award

Sex Education II directed by Tjaša Črnigoj and co-produced by Nova Posta (Mladinsko Theatre and Maska Ljubljana) and City of Women.

Final Report of the Expert Jury of the 59th Maribor Theatre Festival

The 59th Maribor Theatre Festival competition programme presented a relatively wide selection of performances, offering an extensive range of performance formats and themes – from classical drama performances mainly based on recent Slovenian and foreign plays to genre-diverse adaptations of literary material or original projects based on research and documentary material.

In all the diversity of approaches, the selection was characterised above all by a pronounced social engagement, which has been evident in all the productions in various ways, sometimes as the basis, sometimes as a consequence. The productions address important themes of contemporary and recent history, they create a space for rethinking established mythologies through confrontations of different ideological and generational perspectives, and they particularly perceptively address the issue of all types of violence, from the intimate to the institutional, and the intertwining of their mechanisms with the whole social fabric. The theatre is thus, perhaps more than ever before, consolidating itself as a site of a unique sensitivity that goes beyond the stage itself – and in doing so, accepts its role in shaping the community with full responsibility.

We would also like to draw attention to the artistic strength of the younger generations of artists, who made a significant contribution to the overall high level of the programme – the many outstanding performances made it particularly difficult to decide whom to award the Borštnik Prize for Young Actor or Actress. The jury unanimously awarded all the awards.

Strokovna žirija 59. Festivala Borštnikovo srečanje (v sestavi: Gregor Butala, Darko Lukić, Nikita Milivojević, Natasha Tripney, Barbara Zemljič) je Veliko nagrado FBS za najboljšo uprizoritev podelila uprizoritvi Angeli v Ameriki. Pred pragom tisočletja in Perestrojka v režiji Nine Rajić Kranjac v produkciji Slovenskega mladinskega gledališča.

Iz utemeljitve:

Režiserka Nina Rajić Kranjac je očitno uživala v izzivih, ki jih predstavlja epsko delo Tonyja Kushnerja iz leta 1991. Monumentalnega besedila se je namreč lotila z doslednim občutkom za invencijo in drznim pristopom, s katerim je uspešno povezala mnoge politične in filozofske pramene te igre ter jo obenem oblikovala v predstavo za sodobni čas. Skozi šest ur je vseskozi ohranjala pustolovski duh, iz celotne zasedbe pa izvabljala bogate in poglobljene prispevke, iz katerih je nazadnje zrasla razigrana, silovita uprizoritev, ki je enako čustveno vznemirljiva kot slogovno razburljiva. Njenega zmagoslavja ni moglo odplaviti niti vreme.

Branko Šturbej’s acting range is vast, encompassing roles in both classical and contemporary repertoires. He is equally confident in drama and comedy, and it seems that he approaches every role with the same 'naivety' and directness, with a childlike sense of wonder. Slowly, but steadily, as the role develops – alongside undeniable 'technical' virtuosity – he gains profound intellectual and emotional depth. His performance always comes, as it was once written, "from the true epicenter of theater"

Actor Branko Šturbej has been a prominent figure in Slovenian theater for over forty years. Shortly after graduating from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film, and Television at the University of Ljubljana, he joined SNG Drama Ljubljana in 1985, where he first gained recognition with notable roles and earned his first awards. When director Tomaž Pandur took over the leadership of Maribor Drama, Šturbej returned to his hometown and remained there for the entirety of Pandur’s tenure. Since 1990, he has delivered a series of outstanding performances in Pandur’s productions (such as Mephistopheles in Faust, Hamlet, Dante in The Divine Comedy, and Myshkin in The Russian Mission), as well as in works directed by others (including Vojček, Karl Grossmann in America, and George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?). These roles represent the first peak of his acting career, for which he received the Prešeren Fund Award in 1996.

Since 1997, Šturbej has remained a vital force in Slovenian theater, continuing to captivate audiences with his performances at Ljubljana Drama and across numerous other Slovenian theaters (where he has guest-starred in nearly all of them), as well as on the non-institutional stage, television, and film. For the past two decades, he has also been a dedicated educator, teaching dramatic acting at the University of Ljubljana’s Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film, and Television, where he has played a key role in mentoring and shaping the next generation of actors.

The text is excerpted from the justification written by Blaž Lukan.

The jury for the Borštnik Ring Award: Blaž Lukan, Alen Jelen, Nataša Matjašec Rošker, Aleš Novak, and Ana Perne.