Invisible

Tena Stivicic’s Invisible has not been staged in a Croatian theatre before, and the reason for this may be found in the fact that it is a play, originally written in English (2011), whose theme and field of interest at the time when it was created directly addressed first and foremost the British theatre audience. Things have changed in the meantime, and Invisible’s topic has become a pan-European issue. "... this author impresses us with her scenic imagination, she is brilliant in her perspicacious dissection of immigrants’ problem, in a way rarely seen in modern dramaturgy," writes Igor Mandic on the back of the book with Tena Stivicic’s three plays, noting the process by which its protagonists, the exiled, the escaped, the rejected from the East, who see the UK as the promised land, turn into nothing more than confused episodic characters in global political and economic developments, but also in their own lives. The list of characters alone clearly indicates the state of play: there is the "Fortress Europe", where wealthy, affluent people from Western countries’ upper middle-class belong, and there are "Others", who arrive to that same West fleeing their countries shattered by war and the lack of any prospect. The director Matjaz Pograjc, permanently tied to the Slovenian Youth Theatre, has already successfully staged Tena Stivicic’s Fragile! He shaped it into a production with a strong director's concept and a cinematic character, making the play seductive in terms of visual art and innovative in terms of staging solutions.

‘’This is a powerful story about the emigrants who want to enter the ‘’Fortress Europe’’. The staging of Tena Štivičić’s play ‘’Invisible’’ is brilliant (...) The cast played their numerous and confusing roles exceptionally well.’’ (Denis Derk, Večernji list)

‘’A powerful text by Tena Štivičić, directed by Matjaž Pograjc, about the fate of our compatriots who fled the apathetical Croatia and sought prosperity elsewhere (...) ‘’Invisible’’ is a play that requires an additional engagement from the usual attitude towards theatre acting. Together with his cast, Pograjc led the audience to the act of double exposition: While they were watching a live performance, the audience was trying to sympathize with the tragic destinies of refugees, but at the same time the numerous cameras brought the audience inside the very essence of emotion.’’ (Kristina Kegljen, 24express)