Online Performances During a State of Emergency!

Cultural institutions in Serbia closed their doors to the public last week due to the declaration of a state of emergency. In light of the current situation, theaters and museums are starting to release content in a virtual environment, aiming to make the days of self-isolation easier for citizens.

Theatre Atelje 212, National Theatre, Puppet Theatre "Pinocchio", and Theatre "Vuk" have announced their engagement with the audience through videos, while National Museum has posted a virtual tour of Ivan Meštrović's exhibition on their website.

During the state of emergency, Atelje 212 will broadcast recorded performances on their Facebook channel every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 8 PM. The current situation brings new plays to a younger audience who have rarely had the opportunity to see them, while performances that were part of the repertoire long ago will be shown to adults. Tonight at 8 PM, the play "King Ibi" by Alfred Jarry will be presented, and on Saturday, March 21, at 8 PM, the play "The Wounded Eagle" by Mirjana Jakovljević will be shown.

National Theatre conducted a Facebook survey in the past few days, giving the audience the opportunity to express their preferences for plays they would like to watch during the state of emergency. As a result, the theatre was supposed to start broadcasting plays online yesterday. The first play to be presented was "White Coffee". The plays "Bizarre" and "Meadow Full of Darkness" can also be viewed on the website of the National Theatre and its YouTube channel.

Puppet Theatre "Pinocchio" will perform shows without an audience every Saturday at 12 PM and will livestream them on social media platforms - Facebook and Instagram. The youngest ones will have the opportunity to enjoy the plays "The Three Little Pigs", "Cinderella", and "Beauty and the Beast".

Theatre "Vuk" is also expected to organize online performances and live readings of folk tales.

National Museum will introduce the audience to a virtual tour of the exhibition "Ivan Meštrović (1883 - 1962)". It is already available on the website of the National Museum in Belgrade. The exhibition of the Yugoslav sculptor's works was opened on December 17, 2019, at the National Museum, and all the sculptures that were displayed in the Grand Gallery are accessible to visitors on the museum's website.

The museum states that this is just the beginning of virtual tours through the National Museum's treasury.

Instead of concerts for school-age children, the Belgrade Philharmonic is offering musical programs that can be found on the Philharmonic's website. Links to the musical audio fairy tale "The Witch and the Maestro" and compositions performed by the Belgrade Philharmonic for "My First Classical Music CD" - "Carnival of the Animals" and "Peter and the Wolf" - are also available.

On the official YouTube channel of the Yugoslav Film Archive, all interested individuals can freely watch selected excerpts from the institution's collection. These films cover topics such as history, ethnology, and culture.