Stefan Sablić: Our topics are racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia

One of the central segments of the work of the Jewish Cultural Center is the Jewish theater, with the aim of preserving the rich heritage of Jewish culture and dramatic literature and, of course, promoting it in Serbia.

For the first time since it opened in 2023, the Jewish Cultural Center is staging a work by a non-Jewish writer. It will be APChekhov's one-act plays A proposal i Medved directed by Stefan Sablić. The premiere is on February 20, and Anja Josifovski, Ivan Jevtović, Branislav Zeremski, and Sara Gizelj are playing.

Chekhov

"Although it is true that it is the first production that is not related to a Jewish theme or writer, it is simply a continuation of our theatrical journey and it implies that we include the magnificent Chekhov who is unsurpassed and eternal." I think we managed to avoid the stereotype that always follows the realization of his works, which is some human drama, pain, sets. I think and I'm almost sure that we have achieved realistic characters recognizable for the ages and managed to achieve what Chekhov talked about, wrote about and emphasized 'play as a comedy'", explains Stefan Sablić.

Photo: Promo

The Jewish Cultural Center has a very responsible role to introduce the local audience to Jewish culture. Stefan Sablić says that the most important thing in that mission is that they have an "audience and that they get into the habit of coming to JKC".

"Dramatic literature is replete with works by 'Jewish' writers, if such a thing exists. I choose the text and then I am very happy if there is a Jewish writer behind it. We care that people don't think this place belongs only to people who have ties to Judaism. Belgraders have always been happy to come to this center, which has its own rich history. The word anti-Semitism didn't exist here, it was Dorćol, where my grandmother lived. The Jewish community is the founder of JKC and stands for this place of culture, and it is a big task to attract a wide audience."

Important topics

Sablić says that "through its performances, the Jewish theater explores and focuses on many important and current topics in our society, such as racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, intolerance towards minorities, violence and others", which is proven by the JKC's existing repertoire.

Photo: Promo

"Plays like Tybele and her demon Isak Bashevis Singer, who was a guest at the Singer Festival in Warsaw, as well as Mrs. Rosa based on the novel by Roman Gari, they attracted the attention of domestic and international audiences and were performed throughout the region.

The musical Fiddler on the Roof in addition to numerous performances in Serbia, it was also performed in Croatia, where it met with exceptional reactions. A story about love, touching partings, about love misunderstandings, all in the whirlwind of a bad historical moment, brought by the actors, singers and orchestra of Shira Utfil."

Stefan Sablić recalls that "before the formal establishment of the Jewish Cultural Center, in this specific setting of one of only a few remaining buildings of the once numerous Jewish community, performances of Jewish theater were performed in the Hall of the Jewish Municipality of Belgrade" and states that "performances such as Blue Jew (Isak Samokovlija) Bosnian version of the story of Romeo and Juliet,  Addressee unknown (Kathryn Cressman Taylor) an exciting story about two great friends in the terrible days of the Holocaust, which with an unexpected twist clearly points to the creation of the Jewish state and the victory of the victim as well as Hindu wants to go to the Bronx. a drama that talks about teenage violence and wants to show the face and mechanism of violence. These are all engaging stories that left a strong impression on the audience with their themes and performances."

Some of the actors who played in the mentioned titles are: Predrag Ejdus, Mladen Andrejević, Jelisaveta Seka Sablić, Vanja Ejdus, Srđan Timarov, Bojan Dimitrijević, Nebojša Ljubišić, Miloš Timotijević, Branislava Podrumac, Ivan Jevtović, Marko Janketić.

Collaboration with others

Stefan Sablić is the director of most of these plays, the author of the dramatization, and often also a composer and performer on traditional instruments. When asked why he took on such a large job, he answers laconically: "I did it all with great pleasure."

The Jewish Cultural Center has developed cooperation with centers around the world.

"All our plays as well as musical projects are hosted annually at Jewish festivals in Zagreb, Osijek, once often and now less often in Sarajevo." We also recently toured in Vienna, Budapest, Timisoara, Warsaw and many other cities. In addition, thanks to their interest, we often cooperate with foreign cultural centers in Belgrade."

And how do they cooperate with the Secretariat for Culture of the City of Belgrade and the Ministry of Culture?

"Not at all." We have no cooperation. We tried a few things, but they didn't show that they were interested in us," says Stefan Sablić.