TEXT: Sofija Dimitrijević

DIRECTOR: Tara Mitrović

CAST:
Anita Mančić, Iva Milanović, Milan Zarić, Marta Bogosavljević, Nađa Sekulić, Jovana Berić

COSTUME DESIGN: Milena Kostić

SET DESIGN: Ivona Despotović

LIGHTING DESIGN: Nemanja Calić

SOUND DESIGN: Nikola Erić

PHOTOGRAPHY: Nebojša Babić

VISUAL IDENTITY: Marko Stojanović

PRODUCTION: HEARTEFACT, 2026

PREMIERE: March 5, 2026, Heartefact House, Belgrade

*The play was developed within the Human Rights Leaders (HRL) Program, implemented by Hartefakt with the financial support of the European Union. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of Hartefakt and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union

PLAYWRIGHT’S NOTE

“Quiet hours from two to six” is more than a house rule – it is a principle by which one lives, survives, or gets by. As long as there is a rule to rely on, one feels safe. But once a rule is broken, discomfort follows -because if something so fundamental can be challenged, then the entire order can change.

Mirjana has devoted her life to that order. Exemplary yet rigid, obedient yet sharp, this linguistics professor lives according to structure and discipline.

Her world begins to shift with the arrival of Lana — a seemingly unpredictable young woman determined to claim her freedom in a system that barely recognizes the word.

As their worlds collide — loudly — Quiet Hours from Two to Sixreminds us that healing is possible, and that taking flight is both necessary and within reach. – Sofija Dimitrijević

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

One building. Two women. Three encounters. Four neighbors. And countless rules — written and unwritten, long established or completely arbitrary, strictly enforced or loosely interpreted. These are the starting points of Quiet Hours from Two to Six. The title refers to the familiar building regulation requiring silence during designated afternoon hours—but it is also a metaphor for the many rules the protagonist, Mirjana, has unquestioningly followed her entire life. Everything begins to shift when she invites Lana into her apartment — a young woman whom the law and the rules are meant to protect, yet often fail to do so. Quiet Hours from Two to Six is a story about Mirjana, restrained and silenced for most of her life, and Lana, defiant and unyielding. Two radically different female destinies meet inside a single apartment in a single building — an oppressive microcosm — where, over the course of several days and a few pivotal decisions, something begins to heal. Thanks to each other, and despite everything.

By questioning rules, loneliness, shame, fear, revenge, and comfort, the play invites us to believe that change is possible — if there is a true need for it.

At its core, Quiet Hours from Two to Six is a reminder of something we may be forgetting: the healing power of friendship, whoever that friend may be; the possibility of recovery, however we define it; and the idea that it is never too late — unless we allow it to become too late.

It asks: Do I endure? Why? Is it a choice or just a habit? And what if I deserve better? – Tara Mitrović

ABOUT AUTHORS

Tara Mitrović

Born in 2002, Tara Mitrović is a theatre and radio directing graduate from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade whose work already moves confidently between classical texts and contemporary voices. During her studies, she directed Ionesco and O’Neill, presenting Anna Christie at Sterijino pozorje mladih. At the same time, her productions of Ljubiša Đokić and Sofija Dimitrijević marked important festival moments, including the closing of the 18th International Student Theatre Festival at Bitef Theatre. She has staged numerous readings of contemporary drama at venues such as UK Parobrod, Atelje 212, and Belgrade Drama Theatre, and assisted renowned directors including Lenka Udovički, Marija Milenković, and Sonja Vukićević. Recipient of the “Dr. Hugo Klein” Award for best directing student of her generation, her graduation production, Nezaboravak, potočnica, zmijske oči, entered the regular repertoire of the Serbian National Theatre. Quiet Hours from Two to Six is her first original project, developed since 2024 within the Playground platform in close collaboration with playwright and dramaturg Sofija Dimitrijević.

Sofija Dimitrijević

Born in 2001 in Čačak, Sofija Dimitrijević began shaping her literary voice early, publishing her novel Tamo? I nazad?at fifteen and receiving the “Gašino pero” award. Since then, she has built a dynamic career across theatre and film: her plays have been staged and developed at institutions such as the Belgrade Drama Theatre and the Bitef Theatre, including ZEKE ili o skakačima, which closed the International Student Theatre Festival (FIST), and Rake, later produced at the Belgrade Drama Theatre. Hartefakt recognized her drama, Projekat Ksenija, as the best contemporary socially engaged full-length play. At the same time, she is also the recipient of the prestigious “Josip Kulundžić” and “Slobodan Selenić” awards from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts. As a dramaturg, she collaborated on productions at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre, and her work extends into screenwriting, with several short films to her credit, as well as co-founding KAMEO, the first short film festival in Čačak. A teaching associate at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, she has been developing her fourth collaboration with director Tara Mitrović since 2024, including work in Rome within the Playground project alongside the artistic collective Lacasadargilla.

REVIEWS

The text by Sofija Dimitrijević, “Quiet Hours from Two to Six,” is a very compelling, poetically infused, intimate, and family-centered contemporary drama, but also a drama of community—a social drama. It deals with questions of confronting the death of loved ones, with emptiness and longing, with the endless possibilities of freedom, but also with the challenges of open sexuality and the primitiveness of the environment, the vulgar intrusion into others’ lives, and idleness that breeds pure malice.

Ana Tasić, Politika

Two actresses, in a strong and finely tuned partnership, use subtle acting techniques reminiscent of weaving the most delicate lace to build a complex, layered relationship between their characters. Within it, tenderness and female solidarity intertwine with anger rooted in the fact that those who are socially privileged can never fully understand those on the other side. Through their relationship, several key motifs of this richly layered text emerge: from the realization that the Other can never be fully known, even after a lifetime spent together, to the arrogance and violence that politically powerful figures—such as the lady’s husband—inflict on those who are socially subordinate, particularly women.

Ivan Medenica, Radar.rs

AWARDS

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