Sweetheart

Mislav Brečić, the author of ''Sweetheart'', brings us a playful comedy, a nostalgic melodrama, a modern fairy-tale for grown-ups and the score to a clearly articulated social criticism. The Son and Sweetheart, the central characters of this lovely urban epic, wander through the real and the immaginary spaces, accompanied by the Choir – representatives of the people who, by trying to find the solution to their dissatisfaction, are pointing fingers, demanding, imposing and rejecting various ideas and concepts. One of these ideas is terrorism, whose methods and effects Brečić openly confronts in an original manner, devoid of accusations and the more humane for it. What is at stake here is a turn of the blade of social criticism: ''We must look for the causes of our dissatisfaction within ourselves.'' is the thought written in the foundations of this play. In this sense, ''Sweetheart'' represents a call for a change, although not the outer, but the inner one – it is a change which can be made romantically, some will say – with love. Love is precisely in the centre of Brečić's play, devoid of petty burgeois formalism and imposed stereotypes; love is here the creative and driving force which gives us the power to change.

''This is the best premiere of the season. (...) If texts and directions such as these made our writing and directing average, we would be at the European theatre top. (...) The entire plot has a mildly hasty quality, the movement of the actors are choreographed (a brilliant effort by Matija Ferlin). Besides giving us clear tones and matching pure images, Brečić also controls the rhythm. His mise-en-scène is not predictable, the lighting plays an important role in the creation of the ambience (a detailed effort by Zdravko Stolnik).'' (Tomislav Čadež, Jutarnji list)

''(...) as always, Ozren Grabarić is incredibly fresh and exciting. While running across the stage as a character from a cartoon, he denotes, in the best possible sense, the meaning of police repression with Filip Šovagović standing next to him in the role of the Police Officer. Filip Križan (looking more serious with a beard) is an idealistic Son, who knows in advance that his mission will fail but still determined to try. The role of Sweetheart is played by Anja Đurinović, who is convincing in her youth and innocence. The music is an important piece of the dream-like character of the play. It is composed by Stanislav Kovačić, who also performs it, as one of the choir members. The choir sings, comments but also makes things happen. Alongside Kovačić the choir is comprised of Perica Martinović, Živko Anočić, Barbara Nola and Ivana Bolanča.'' (Bojana Radović, Večernji list)

''(...) it's an intelligent comedy with a social note in it. The characteristic author's touch and the inventive stage solutions make the play dynamic and appealing, add to that the excellent portrayals of the entire ensemble and the hour and a half of the play goes by in the blink of an eye. I personally believe that this is the newest hit-play in Gavella and hope that it will bring joy to a large audience. (...) Save for the influence on the plot, the character of the Inspector stands out because of the brilliant portrayal by Ozren Grabarić. (...) The season definitely belongs to him and it would be a great oversight if he wasn't rewarded for his roles.'' (Tim Hrvaćanin, Ziher.hr)

''The greatest virtue of this play is the facetious relationship of the authors, by which I mean the director/writer, the dramaturge and the ensemble, towards various kinds of narrow-mindedness, persecutions, mockery, holding grudges, hatred and violence. Brečić has a keen sense of humour, without the need to humiliate his rival and with just a mild call to the denunciation of clichés followed by a detachment from the conventional. Gavella's actors were intrigued by such parameters of the play and responded to them with pleasure. It is no wonder then that both the stage designer (Tanja Lacko) and the costume designer (Marita Ćopo) resisted the call of visual definition of the play and put themselves in the service of the actors' performances, freeing the stage of props, more precisely, opening it to the nuances of the actors', that is characters' volumes. (...) I recommend Sweetheart to all who lend an ear to the dark, as much as the humorous, lyre of performance poetry and not just to the diagnostic prose.'' (Nataša Govedić, Novi list)

''Sweetheart is an incredibly seductive play without leading or supporting roles. In its simplicity, unpretentiousness and the sense of humour expressed through the music of Stanislav Kovačić and the choreography by Matija Ferlin, it carries a noble social message. The positive energy, the subtle irony, the entire ensemble sufficiently caricatured and playful, together with a persuasive writing so different than the prevailing trend, is just what we need in these hysterical times.'' (Anđela Vidović, Arteist.hr)