A NEW FORMAT FOR TEATAR FEST: VIDA DAVIDOVIĆ BRINGS ART BACK TO CONVERSATION

At this year’s Teatar Fest “Petar Kočić”, audiences will have the opportunity to participate in roundtable discussions with members of the artistic teams after each performance, according to the National Theatre of the Republic of Srpska.

PHOTO: NP RS

This engaged and dynamic segment of the festival will be moderated by playwright and screenwriter Vida Davidović, whose work is widely recognized in both theatre and film circles across the Balkans. Born in 1998 in East Sarajevo and raised in Banja Luka, Davidović studied at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, where she earned a degree in Dramaturgy and a master’s degree in Theory of Dramatic Arts and Media.

Her plays, including Brooklyn and Cats in the Dumpsters, Celebrations, and Black Sheep, as well as her screenwriting credits for films such as Graduation, Ribs, White Daisies, and In the Shoulders, explore themes such as the female body, growing up, and trauma — lending her work a profound emotional and social depth. She was awarded the prestigious Sterija Award for Best Original Dramatic Text for her play Little Wars and Zara’s Cabins, while her novel Nausea: On Not Growing Up was longlisted for the NIN Award for Best Novel in 2022.

Currently living and working in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Lincoln, Davidović remains actively involved in the cultural life of the Balkans.

The roundtable discussions she will lead during the festival will offer audiences a unique insight into the creative process, as well as the chance to engage in dialogue with authors and performers on the themes and challenges that contemporary theatre brings to the forefront.

According to the National Theatre, these conversations are expected to enrich the overall festival experience, fostering a deeper connection between the audience and the artists through meaningful exchange.