Ivan Cankar
The King of Betajnova
UL Academy for Theatre, Radio, Film and Television
Crew
Director: Maša Pelko
Dramaturg: Anja Krušnik Cirnski
Stage designers: Aleksander Vujović Katja Marinič
Costume designer: Nina Čehovin
Music: Beti Strgar
Lighting designer: Juš A. Zidar
Sound master: Anja Krušnik Cirnski
Cast
Jožef Kantor, factory owner: Matic Valič
Hana, his wife: Lucija Harum
Francka, their daughter: Ana Penca
Pepa, their youngest daughter: Beti Strgar
Nina, Kantor's relative: Anuša Kodelja
Parish Priest: Blaž Popovski
Krnec, Ex-Storekeeper and Innkeeper: Borut Doljšak
Maks, his son: Timotej Novaković
Franc Bernot, landowner: Lovro Zafred
Lužarica: Lina Akif
Judge: Gregor Podričnik
About the performance
The King of Betajnova, Ivan Cankar’s fourth play, was written in 1901 and to this day remains almost unimaginably topical, both in the realm of political and social, as well as intimate. The story of one of the most famous Slovenian plays follows the rise of the manufacturer Kantor, who kicks off his path any stone that would prevent him from having everything his greedy capitalist hands desire, and vagabond Maks, who demands the right of consciousness and freedom. Conceived as a crime story, at its core, the play is a story of power and the family unit.
This production, adapted for stage by the third-year UL AGRFT students of acting and directing, keeps Cankar’s narrative line, but transposes the story into a single day that has fateful consequences for everyone involved. The production thus tries to enter the as yet unresearched fields of the story and to particularly put in the front the question of where in this emphatically male story is the place of women, who should otherwise just be silent witnesses.