THE BLACK BOOK

Who is really indebted to whom, why, and is all debt really sacred?


As part of a celebration of a hundred years in business, a local bank invited citizens to place items of personal importance in a “time vault” to preserve them for future generations. The time capsule will remain closed for a hundred years, containing all the belongings that the citizens placed inside. A group of debtors used the time capsule to deposit a book of testimonies on the debt crisis that hit Croatia at the beginning of the 21st century. THE BLACK BOOK – stored and preserved below ground – will end up in someone’s hands in a hundred years…

This event is the starting point of the documentary performance THE BLACK BOOK. A group of indebted actors, employees of public theatre in the capital of an indebted country, will take us to the very core of the social drama that is shaking our present and determining our future. Who is really indebted to whom, why, and is all debt sacred? What happens when indebted actors and an indebted audience come together within a theatrical space that becomes a time machine? What will we discover when we travel to the beginning of the 22nd century, to a point in time when the debtors’ book is taken out from the capsule? The performance THE BLACK BOOK will thoroughly challenge the dogma that economy makes the world go round and the effect debt has on our lives.

Press

Materials

Photos

Video

Credits

Text and direction: Borut Šeparović / Dramaturgy: Nataša Mihoci and Borut Šeparović / Musical numbers: MONTAЖ$TROJ – Konrad Mulvaj, Ante Perković and Borut Šeparović / Set design: Borut Šeparović / Costume design: Doris Kristić / Mask design: Miljenko Sekulić / Lighting design: Aleksandar Čavlek / Assistant director and stage movement designer: Nataša Mihoci / Performers: Hrvojka Begović, Katarina Bistrović Darvaš, Danijel Ljuboja, Pjer Meničanin, Krešimir Mikić, Rakan Rushaidat, Lucija Šerbedžija, Vedran Živolić, Konrad Mulvaj and Ante Perković / Technical direction: Krešimir Jurić / Stage management: Željko Začek / Photography: Marko Ercegović / Graphic design: Studio Omazić / Executive production: Petra Prša, Maja Gladović, Nikola Beban / Public relations: Helena Braut, Petra Prša / Project financed by: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, City Office for Education, Culture and Sports, Kultura Nova Foundation / Production: Zagreb Youth Theatre and MONTAЖ$TROJ 

INSPIRATION, SOURCES AND THANKS

The performance THE BLACK BOOK was inspired by the following works: The Black Book (Franak Association 2012), Video advertisement based on Srđan Gulić and Zvonimir Koretić’s creative and visual concept, directed by Dalibor Matanić (2005), The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus – Christopher Marlowe (translated by Flora and Tonko Maroević), The Swiss Franc Saga – Zoran Bohaček (Banka.hr, 2015). The visual identity of the performance is a paraphrase of the video advertisement based on Srđan Gulić and Zvonimir Koretić’s creative and visual concept, directed by Dalibor Matanić (2005). Music: Depeche Mode, Dino Merlin, DJ Costy, Donna Ares, Džango, Enis, Fatboy Slim, Fazlija, Indira Radić, Juice, Jasmin Jusić, Lana Del Rey, MC Stojan, Milica Todorović, Pepa Petrova, Public Image Limited, Stoja, The Pixies, The Rolling Stones, Tram 11, Vlasta Popić, Voke, Zager And Evans. Special inspiration: Mimi Mercedez. Thanks:  Franak Association, Lipa Taxpayer Association, Centre for Peace Studies, Goran Aleksić, Robert Badurina, Jasmina Barić, Sandra Benčić, Goran Bogdan, Tomislav Bučkal, Ivana Dragičević, Srećko Horvat, Davor Huić, Goran Jeras, Snježana Jurković, Luka Kincl, Branimir Kunštek, Ksenija Marinković, Petra Rodik, Seid Serdarević, Denis Smajo, Vuk Vuković, Damir Žižić, Jasna Žmak. Special thanks to those who participated in the research phase of the project and whose names we cannot mention because they wanted to stay anonymous. We thank everyone whose testimonies are described in The Black Book by the Franak Association because this project could not have happened without their bravery to publicly speak out about their problems.