Based on the novel by Katarina Mitrović
Director: Đorđe Nešović
Dramatization and Adaptation: Isidora Milosavljević
Starring: Aleksandra Arizanović, Julija Petković, Nevena Kočović
Stage Speech: Dijana Marojević
Costume Design: Marija Varga
Music: Marija Balubdžić
Sound Design: Marija Balubdžić and Luka Cvetko
Visual Identity: Jelena Šušnjar
Photography: Nata Korenovskaia
Lighting Design: Nađa Vukorep
Organization: Ksenija Milutinović
Public Relations: Slavica Pešić
Student intern: Milica Ivković
Premiere: December 26, 2024, Hartefact House
This performance is part of the project “Expanding Theatre Landscapes,” supported by the British Council through the Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans project (CC4WBs). Funded by the European Union, CC4WBs aims to enhance dialogue in the Western Balkans by strengthening the cultural and creative sector and developing its potential for socio-economic impact in the region.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
“What changes when you step into your thirties? Is that when you become aware of your mortality, confronted with the question: why do we exist if we’re destined to die? The protagonist, Vanja, faces a whirlwind of fears, internal dilemmas, and harsh realities. In this chaos, she tries to find reasons to live while also grappling with the futility surrounding her. Reading Katarina’s novel, Vanja appeared to me as a chorus of young people—a collective voice revealing their inner worlds, offering comfort, and reminding you: you are not alone.” – Đorđe Nešović, Director
DRAMATURG’S NOTE
“From the moment Đorđe expressed his desire to adapt Katarina Mitrović’s novel All Good Barbies, my main concern was how to reconcile the protagonist’s internal world with the theatrical stage (in this case, even more challenging—the Hartefact House). It was crucial for me to remain faithful to the novel, which was published less than a year ago, and to the protagonist’s contradictions, questions, and complex emotions. Therefore, the first decision was to have Vanja’s family, friends, employers, and other passersby reflect her emotional state. Her inner world is so intense and layered that it felt unnecessary to follow a clear external conflict or narrative flow. Gertrude Stein wrote about the Lost Generation, particularly writers of her era who experienced a deep identity and value crisis after World War I. They felt disillusioned with society, patriotism, and traditional values due to the horrors of war. The sense of disorientation and meaninglessness often became the central theme of their works. Today, it seems that every generation since then has felt lost in some way, and this story is undoubtedly about another lost generation. It’s about confronting personal failures, the fear of responsibility, and finding solace in small moments—a friend’s hand squeeze and the realization that, despite everything, we are alive. Broken, sad, angry, and unsteady, but alive.” – Isidora Milosavljević, dramaturgist
CRITICS
“Director Đorđe Nešović leads the narrative and the actresses with sovereignty and authenticity, delicately and stylishly playing with the foundational minimalism through subtly thought-out solutions. The interplay with sound is particularly exciting, creating a unique soundscape where recorded voices intertwine with live speech mediated through microphones. This forms a choral, nightmarish offensive of voices, elusive streams of frenzied thoughts tormenting the protagonist and transferring this unease to the audience.” – Ana Tasić, Politika
“This is a modern story about a hungry artist, an exploited writer with no prospect of living off the art she’s proud of. Even the protagonist points out this dangerous stereotype: I know one thing, people love artists who suffer. But we like this story and the protagonist not because we celebrate their suffering, but because she thrives and finds meaning in life, in friendships, family love, community, and in being alive, in spite of it all.” – Mina Milošević, SeeStage
!The three Vanjas (and all the other characters) are the already confirmed Julija Petković, Aleksandra Arizanović and Nevena Kočović. Strong, precise, concentrated. Cold and distant as a symbol of an alienated generation, dramatic and emotionally charged, as the members of that generation are. A deeply personal story about depression, a story about the society that leads to that depression. A joint story, and that’s how it ends, with mixed chairs, with the audience descending on the stage, and merging with the actresses into one organism. United both in depressions and in ways out.” – Aleksandra Glovacki, Novi Mazagin
AWARDS
9th International Theatre Festival “Days of Jurislav Korenić,” Sarajevo, November 2025 – Žan Marolt Award for Best Young Actresses
FESTIVALS/GUEST PERFORMANCES
9th International Theatre Festival “Days of Jurislav Korenić,” Sarajevo, November 2025
16th Joakim Days Theatre Festival, Kragujevac, May 2026
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Đorđe Nešović completed his undergraduate and master’s studies in theatre and radio directing at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. He is currently pursuing doctoral artistic studies at the same faculty. He has directed several plays, including The Effect (Lucy Prebble, NP Toša Jovanović Zrenjanin), The Mouse Plague (Aleksandar Popović, Serbian National Theatre Novi Sad), George Kaplan (Frederick Sonntag, Slovenian National Theatre Nova Gorica), and The Imaginary Invalid (Molière, Princely Serbian Theatre Kragujevac). During his studies, he directed Where They Sing (Filip Grujić), LUX IN TENEBRIS (Bertolt Brecht), and Lola Montez (Slobodan Obradović). He assisted Miloš Lolić on the play Kaspar (Peter Handke, Yugoslav Drama Theatre) and Marko Đorđević on the film Enough for Now. He has participated in numerous festivals and workshops and is the recipient of the Dr. Hugo Klajn award for the best theatre directing student in his generation.
