The play Death in Dubrovnik, created in collaboration between the Drama Studio Prazan Prostor and the Human Rights Action (HRA), won the award for Best Overall Performance and the award for Dramaturgy at one of the most prestigious theater festivals in the region – the 35th Marulić Days in Croatia.

These awards represent strong recognition for the artistic team that courageously addressed painful topics from the recent past, confronting the audience with the truth about the siege of Dubrovnik in 1991–1992. They also affirm the importance of confronting the past through art, with the aim of building bridges between people and creating a more just society.

The play is based on personal and archival materials collected from members of former military and paramilitary units and volunteers, war veterans, members of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) and the Counterintelligence Service, families of victims, as well as the wives of war veterans. The script is grounded in over 30 testimonies gathered by Human Rights Action and Prazan Prostor.

In the explanation for the main award, the expert jury—comprising Neva Rošić (actress, theater educator, and director), Ivan Leo Lemo (director), Magdalena Mrčela (professor, author, and theater critic), Nikolina Rafaj (dramaturge and playwright), and Ozren Bakotić (set designer)—stated:

“The ascetic dedication to uncovering information about the harrowing topic of the siege of Dubrovnik has resulted in a rarely seen theatrical masterpiece. Death in Dubrovnik is a play in which all collaborators are completely uncompromising and exposed—vulnerable and wounded—easy targets for yet another examination of history which, due to the sensitivity of the subject, could have easily ended in division and bitterness. However, the creative team’s direction serves two sacred purposes—truth and reconciliation. An unforgettable script, meticulously crafted dramaturgy, inspired directing bursting with creative solutions, and a magnificent performance by the cast make Death in Dubrovnik a double winner—because neither the harrowing historical subject nor the play’s anthological performance will fall into the dust of oblivion.”

In awarding the dramaturgy prize to Anja Pletikosa, the jury emphasized that the play is backed by serious research and an exceptional sensitivity to the value of the artistic text. “From interviews to poetry, from a young man in love amid the hell of shelling to Ujević’s Everyday Lament, Anja Pletikosa found the perfect balance in dramaturgy that reflects meticulousness, love, and respect for the craft—resulting in an artistic creation worthy of admiration.”

In addition to the expert jury, the audience also recognized the quality of the play. Death in Dubrovnik earned an average viewer rating of 4.76 (on a scale from 1 to 5), placing it second only to the play A Dog Is Not a Beast, based on a text by the legendary Split writer Miljenko Smoje and produced by the City Puppet Theater of Split, which received an average rating of 4.85.

The director of the double-award-winning play Death in Dubrovnik is Petar Pejaković. The cast includes Slaviša Grubiša, Emir Ćatović, Pavle Prelević, Miloš Kašćelan, Kristijan Blečić, and Maša Božović.

The play premiered on June 20, 2024, in Podgorica and was subsequently performed three more times in Montenegro’s capital. It was then staged in Kolašin at the Korifej Festival, followed by performances in Kotor and Cetinje. Now, it continues its journey of confronting the past and fostering connection with a performance on May 9 in Sarajevo, as part of the MESS Festival.

The production was realized as part of the project “The Siege of Dubrovnik 1991–1992: Remembering v. Reoccurrence” funded by the European Union through the regional initiative “EU Support to Confidence-Building in the Western Balkans,” and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Montenegro.