May, 7th 2001
Croatian House of Culture in Sušak
Zagreb Youth Theatre, Zagreb – Croatia

Rene Medvešek: DONKEY BROTHER

Composed and adapted by: Rene Medvešek

Cast: Katarina Bistrović-Darvaš, Rajko Bundalo, Zoran Čubrilo, Nataša Dorčić, Slaven Juriša, Zdenka Marunčić, Pjer Meničanin, Krešimir Mikić, Nada Perišić-Nola, Urša Raukar, Branko Supek, Doris Šarić- Kukuljica
Costumes: Martina Karla Franić
Light: Aleksandar Čavlek Glazba
Music: Compagnie chez Bousca and Berial Achiary

The body he mounted when starting his journey towards Sister Death – which he saw as the end of mundane life -, Saint Francis named Brother Donkey. Giovanni Francesco Bernardone, commonly known as St. Francis of Assisi, is a man whose life and work create an inseparable whole and who has undoubtedly left an indelible imprint on the history of our civilisation.
From the programme booklet

Medvešek’s theatre is a theatre of elementary ethic principles, a theatre reflecting the spirit of emotions and the joy of life. It is a theatre woven of striking and effective images and humorous scenic tricks, one that emerges from unrestrained acting characterised by the spirit of individual improvisation and complete togetherness of the cast…

Through a series of loosely connected scenes that concentrate around distinctive motifs relevant to the saint’s life, Medvešek creates a buoyant and translucent show. The performance is neither a miracle play nor a didactic scenic sermon, but a witty and amusing theatrical anagram with open communicational channels through which allegorically-symbolic images, mime scenes, and miniature dialogically-narrative compositions construct the scope of acting.
Hrvoje Ivanković in Jutarnji list
The actor Mikić is a tall and thin man of worn-out appearance, skilful in both gestic and ironic interpretations of the text. In the shoes of St. Francis he appears smiling, convincingly benign, gentle, good-natured and playful, yet endowed with the endless modesty and affability ofa merry saint.