Archived: Ivica and Marica

Ivica and Marica

Directed by: Lea Anastazija Fleger Text: Brothers Grimm / N. Rafaj Duration: 65 minutes

The fairy tale about a brother and sister who wander through the woods encounters a seemingly sweet surprise, is one of the most famous fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, with which generations testify again and again to the inexhaustible love of children who find support only in each other.

Can a fairy tale even survive in today’s context in which children are offered so much different content in such a short amount of time? It is the survival of the Brothers Grimm's fairy tales that has become the yardstick that tells us that we will listen to fairy tales for a long time to come.

The tale of a brother and sister wandering through the woods encounters a seemingly sweet surprise is certainly one of the most famous fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, which for generations helps to form their own answers to eternal children's (but not only children's) questions such as how to cope with the unknown. situations? What if we remember the "don't talk to strangers" tips when we don't even consider them strangers anymore? And who could resist candy at home anyway? The challenge of setting up a fairy tale that everyone could retell in one breath, which does not try to hide cruelty or the dark side of life, still manages to open space for new interpretations and tackling the rules that already sing all the birds on the branches as well as the rules. which we have yet to learn. It is believed that the fairy tale itself was created in the 19th century, during great poverty and consequent famine, but it does not lose its relevance but reminds us of the need to question the extremes – the children's world and the adult world where so often completely different laws rule. expectations as well as values. Characteristic of fairy tales, the main characters are always faced with various temptations that they overcome with the help of various assistants, but what if we are not sure whether they are on our side for the assistants themselves?

The world of Ivica and Marica is not seen with pink glasses, but it is still a children's world, so there is no lack of games, music or colors in the stage performance itself. Practicing the imagination remains a pledge of the theater, which builds a bridge between extremes, and brings us closer to the terrible, so that at the first opportunity, we can turn it even more creatively into nothing less than an adventure. Wandering from situation to situation, which entails new obstacles, together we are reminded that every problem, no matter how big and terrible, was solvable, with a great deal of togetherness and a few pinches of courage. This reminder is of equal importance for all the little ones as well as the big ones, all those who are impatiently listening to this fairy tale for the first time, and already at the second moment they become those who tell it to some new curious ears.