The exhibition Theatre Work: Brecht on Slovenian Stages offers a concise overview of the profound impact Bertolt Brecht – the great German playwright, poet, prose writer, essayist as well as theoretician, director, and reformer of the theatre – has had on Slovenian theatre. The title of the exhibition is inspired by the celebrated book Theaterarbeit, which documented productions by Brecht’s Berliner Ensemble. Similarly, this exhibition explores Brecht and theatre work, but within the context of the history of Slovenian theatre.
The exhibition Theatre Work: Brecht on Slovenian Stages will open at the Slovenian Theatre Institute on Tuesday, October 6 at 6 p.m.
The exhibition will be opened by Vesna Jurca Tadel (Acting Director-General of the Creativity Directorate, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia), Dr Gašper Troha (Director of SLOGI), Žanina Mirčevska, MPhil, Prof (Dean of UL AGRFT), Lena Prents (Director of Goethe-Institut Ljubljana) and authors of the exhibition. Short Opening Performances: Sofija Zavratnik Kain sings two songs by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill; Dr Anthony Squiers reads excerpts from his new translation of the poem Die drei Soldaten (The Three Soldiers) by Bertolt Brecht
The first encounter between Brecht and Slovenian theatre took place in 1937, when Bojan Stupica staged The Threepenny Opera at SNT Drama Ljubljana, under the title The Beggar’s Opera. Brecht returned to Slovenian stages only some time later, but from the mid-1950s on, he became a regular part of Slovenian theatre repertoires. An average of at least one of his works has been staged per year ever since. In professional theatres, Brecht has been staged most often at SNT Drama Ljubljana and SNT Maribor - Drama, while his works have also regularly featured in the curriculum of the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television.
The exhibition Theatre Work: Brecht on Slovenian Stages was created as part of the broader interdisciplinary project Bertolt Brecht – 70 Years On, conceived by Dr Aldo Milohnić and Dr Jakob Ribič, members of the research group at UL AGRFT. Dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the death of Bertolt Brecht, it involves, besides UL AGRFT, numerous other organizations, including SLOGI, NUK, the journal Amfiteater, Založba /*cf. publishing house, Anton Podbevšek Theatre, the Bertolt Brecht Archive at the Academy of Arts in Berlin, the International Brecht Society, the Goethe-Institut Ljubljana, and Cankarjev dom. It encompasses an international symposium, book editions of new translations of Brecht’s writings, and exhibition events. The opening of the exhibition on October 6 at 6 p.m. at the Slovenian Theatre Institute – Theatre Museum will simultaneously launch the international symposium Speech on the (Dark) Times: Brecht’s Thought Then and Now, which will take place until 9 October in the same venue hosting the exhibition.
The exhibition will be open to visitors until 10 February 2027, when we will commemorate the 129th anniversary of Brecht’s birth.
Accompanying Programme for the Exhibition:
- 10 October 2026 at 5 pm – first public guided tour of the exhibition;
- 27 October 2026 at 5 pm – combined public guided tour of the exhibition Brecht’s Experiments (Versuche) – Slovenian Translations, First German Editions and Documents from the Bertolt Brecht Archive at the Academy of Arts in Berlin at the National and University Library and the exhibition Theatre Work: Brecht on Slovenian Stages at the Slovenian Theatre Institute, (meeting point in front of the National and University Library, Turjaška 1, Ljubljana);
- 26 November 2026 at 5 pm – combined public guided tour of the exhibitions at the Slovenian Theatre Institute and the National and University Library, (meeting point in front of the Slovenian Theatre Institute);
- 3 December 2026 at 10 am and 5 pm – combined public guided tour of the exhibitions at the National and University Library and the Slovenian Theatre Institute, (meeting point for both tours in front of the National and University Library);
- 12 January 2027 at 5 pm at the Slovenian Theatre – Brecht’s Most Frequently Performed Works Over Time: presentation followed by a public guided tour of the exhibition;
- 26 January 2027 at 5 pm – combined public guided tour of the exhibitions at the Slovenian Theatre Institute and the National and University Library, (meeting point in front of the Slovenian Theatre Institute);
- 8 February 2027 at 11 am – combined public guided tour of the exhibitions at the National and University Library and the Slovenian Theatre Institute, (meeting point in front of the National and University Library);
- 10 February 2027 at 5 pm at the National and University Library and at 6 p.m at the Slovenian Theatre Institute – final public guided tour of the exhibitions at the National and University Library and the Slovenian Theatre Institute, followed by two closing events marking the 129th anniversary of Brecht’s birth.
Exhibition authors: Dr Aldo Milohnić, Dr Jakob Ribič and Ana Perne
Digitisation, graphic and technical design: Andrej Ovsec
Language consultant: Andraž Polončič Ruparčič
English language editor: Jana Renée Wilcoxen
Editing of AV material: David Verlič
Production: Slovenian Theatre Institute; project manager: Ana Perne
The exhibition was created in collaboration with the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television of the University of Ljubljana (UL AGRFT), as part of the research programme Theatre and Interart Studies (P6-0376), which is financially supported by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency.
The exhibition team gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the following in collecting the material: Simona Ješelnik and Miha Grum (Theatre and Film Studies Centre UL AGRFT), Matjaž Berger and Mitja Sočič (Anton Podbevšek Teater), Mojca Kranjc (SNT Drama Ljubljana), Sandra Požun (SNT Maribor), Martina Mrhar (SNT Nova Gorica), Alenka Klabus Vesel (Ljubljana City Theatre), Marinka Poštrak (Prešeren Theatre Kranj), Katarina Saje (Mladinsko Theatre), Rossana Paliaga (Slovene Permanent Theatre in Trieste), Dr Bojan Himmelreich (Historical Archives Celje), Barbara Poček (Glej Theatre), Marjeta Lavrič and Valerija Intihar (En-Knap Productions), Ana Kocjančič, MA, Tea Rogelj, MA, Dr Matic Kocijančič and Katarina Kocijančič (Slovenian Theatre Institute) and Ula Talija Pollak.
SLOGI is funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.
