At the age of 94, Jurij Souček, one of the last representatives of the so-called critical generation, which under the auspices of Odra 57 (1957–1964) thoroughly transformed the image of Slovenian theater and whose mental freshness defines Slovenian theater creators even today, has passed away. Souček was already recognized as the bearer of a modern acting style, modern theatrical intent, at a time when the theater medium fully enabled meaningful pointed social subversiveness.
After the end of Odra 57, he persisted in developing visions that deviated from this image official theaters in the sixties. As a full-time employee at Drama SNG in Ljubljana, he was also part of himself, but at the same time he was looking for niches for experimentation outside the institution. He personified an energy that is nominally part of the institution, but is also its less adapted reformer. A kind of continuity can be recognized when Souček, as a director and leader (in the years 1965-1970), founded independent theater groups with a variable name: the group 312-860 in the Šentjakob Theater, which in 1966 was the first in Slovenia to stage Ajshilov's play Chained Prometheus (translated by K. Gantar), followed by the Side Entrance group and then the Součkova group. Involvement in the creative hustle and devoted enthusiasm was complemented by adherence to the French dramatic avant-garde and a sense of the French language. Collaborations with increasingly established artists (Jaki, Lenassi, Spacal, Tisnikar) added their expression. In this sense, Souček lived his "edge", but at the same time stood in the center, even as a symbolic sign in the midst of the institution's stereotypes. The original style of Souček's game radiated his personality: self-contained, hard to bend, skeptical of routine and tradition. Among the roles in which he put his stamp, we should at least mention his Creon in Smoletova Antigone on Oder 57 and in the production half a year later in Drama SNG (1960), Hoederer in Sartre Dirty hands (Ad hoc Theatre, 1961), George in the first Slovenian production of Albee Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Drama SNG Ljubljana, 1964), Cesarja v Architect and Assyrian emperor F. Arrabala (Little Drama, 1968).
The importance of Souček's acting style was confirmed by the awards of the professional public: Sterijeva (1961), five awards at the Sarajevo MESS festival, in 1994 he received the Borštnik prstan, in 2019 the award of the Association of Dramatic Artists. In 2018, he received the Ježko Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2022 became an honorary citizen of Ljubljana.
With his way of playing and specific vocal presence, he also attracted the attention of radio, film and television audiences. He was able to follow the technological changes from the front row, so to speak, and the increasingly "television" time inscribed Souček into the subconscious of several generations as the voice behind the cartoons Pippi and Melhiades, he lent his voice to Miškolin and Maksips Fik, we remember him from Little Smuka, all of which confirm the high sense of television dubbing of cartoon series by professional speakers and acting personalities. Just as Souček's play marked the development of Slovenian acting, his voice was indelibly imprinted in the memory of radio and television audiences.
Primož Jesenko, MA
Cover photo: Jurij Souček, portrait. Photo: Marko Modic, SLOGI.
