Your Love is King is a poetic monologue in which a son confronts his mother and his childhood — one marked by a mother raising her children alone, a criminal father, and a brother caught up in the world of drugs. Although addressed to his mother, the monologue remains entirely in his mind.

As he tries to build a relationship with his soothing mother and understand why his life has turned out the way it has, we witness a deep sense of guilt (Why am I like this? Why do I feel this way? Do I have the right to these feelings? To my feelings?) and of reproach (Why weren’t you different? Why didn’t we have a normal life? Why don’t you understand me?).

What interests me as a director is finding a stage expression — even as a staged reading — that can fully convey the intimacy, vulnerability, and poetic essence of Espi Tomičić’s writing.

Gabrijel Lazić

Fifty-five Square Meters explores the consequences of mass tourism in a small Mediterranean town and its impact on its residents. The play follows a family in their 55 m² apartment over the course of a summer, and we witness the problems that arise from the fact that the city they live in has been taken over, arranged, and decorated for tourists.

Lena and Tino, newlyweds, are forced to temporarily move back in with Lena’s parents because, from May to October, their landlord evicts them from their flat in order to rent it to tourists for a much higher price. The grandmother also lives with them, waiting for a spot in a care home that she will most likely never get. Representing the youngest generation is Luka, Lena’s brother, who has no sense of purpose in life and is surrounded by drug dealers and shady neighbors.

The play is a powerful critique of cities that no longer serve their citizens and have become mere backdrops for the spectacle staged every summer for tourists.

Helena Petković

Stage Creation
Adrià Pinar

Production
Teatre Nacional de Catalunya

In collaboration with
Zagrebačko Kazalište Mladih (ZKM)