Wednesdy, 7th May 2025, 7:30pm
Croatian House of Culture in Sušak
Cultural Association ARTERARIJ, Zagreb

Šušak/ Mažić/ Nikolić: Doghouse

Director: Romano Nikolić

Text: Dorotea Šušak, Mario Mažić and Romano Nikolić in collaboration with the performers
Dramaturgy: Dorotea Šušak and Romano Nikolić
Costume design: Zdravka Ivandija Kirigin
Music: Damir Šimunović
Cast: Anita Matić Delić, Dušan Gojić, Jelena Graovac Lučev, Nikola Nedić and Davor Tarbuk

Running time: 70 minutes

The play Doghouse deals with the difficult and, in our society, inadequately discussed topic of war rape and its long-term consequences on individuals, families, communities and society as a whole. Through the stories of two families with different backgrounds, the play explores how the trauma of war violence affects not only those who experienced it, but is passed on to the next generations. It does not shy away from exploring living trauma, quite the opposite. By interweaving honest dialogues with inner reflections, it opens space for testimony about pain that is often silenced. The Doghouse questions how we deal with past traumas and how they influence our everyday lives. It explores what is lost – in advance and forever – when trauma hurts the very fibre of a being. The play addresses universal issues of violence, trauma, silence, and the courage it takes to face it. The poignant performances in the Doghouse serve as a vessel for an open discussion on the legacy of war traumas.

From the reviews:
Another example of theatre that takes place beyond our norms of repertoire, which also happens to be more relevant in content than most institutional plays, is the Doghouse (…) By exploring the issue of collective post-war trauma and mixing documentary with fiction, a group of five actors reveals the “unspeakable” content of family relationships. (…) Overall, Doghouse is a theatrical event that strongly impacts the audience and liberates us from both our private as well as the public silence about the consequences of living with the experience of war rape, present long after the military conflicts formally ended.
Nataša Govedić, Novi list

(Photo: Sanjin Kaštelan)