TIJESNA ZEMLJA

CREATIVE TEAM

Author: Mate Balota
Director and Dramatic Adaptation: Marin Blažević
Choreography: Maša Kolar
Projection Design: Marin Lukanović
Set Design: Marin Blažević and Maša Kolar
Costume Design: Sandra Dekanić
Lighting Design: Marin Blažević
Language Consultant: Anton Percan
Assistant Set Designer: Vanja Ujčić

CAST

Neva Rošić
Ivna Bruck
María Matarranz de las Heras
Luka Mihovilović
Michele Pastorini

Members of the INK Drama and Dance Studio:

Noel Smailbašić / Geo Petrović
Mitja Ozrin Jolić / Luka Pejković

The final scene features numerous members of the INK Drama and Dance Studio.

PRODUCTION

Istrian National Theatre – Pula City Theatre
2025/2026 Theatre Season: Ode to Peace

Special thanks to the family of Mijo (Miho) Mirković for granting the rights to adapt, stage and perform the novel Tijesna zemlja.

Grandchildren: Daniela Mirković, Ivan Mirković, Maja Mirković, Marko Mirković, Mijo Mirković, Nada Mirković, Saša Mirković, Vladimira Mirković Blažević

Great-grandchildren: Andrej Mirković, Antea Mirković, Ivana Mirković, Marul Kuljiš, Mihovila Kuljiš, Nika Mirković, Nikola Mirković, Tibor Mirković, Tiziano Mirković, Vladimir Mirković

Special thanks to the Municipality of Marčana for granting permission to film on location.

ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE

Based on Mate Balota's seminal novel, this production takes audiences to Istria at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Through the story of the Gašpić family unfolds a lyrical saga of ordinary people whose lives are inseparably bound to their native land. The conflict between the brothers Marko and Ivo reflects the painful transition from tradition to modernity, in which the land ceases to be a guarantee of survival and becomes instead an object of trade and debt.

Following the life journey of Tone Gašpić, the production offers a powerful allegory of the disappearance of an era while celebrating the resilience of the human spirit, which, despite the upheavals of history, continually finds the strength to begin anew.