Flex

Flex is an original project created as a result of the collective improvisational work of a group of actors and dramaturge Ivan Penović (who also created the play Catalan in the same format). It is centered around the office space of a private company and its employees. Nowadays, motivation for work, and the purpose and methods of production are often on the edge of absurdity, and it is these situations that are the basis of this satirical play.

Flex is a private data protection agency and sometimes a real estate agency, owned by an eponymous owner. It is not an agency that defines the market, it is not an agency that pushes boundaries, and it is not a company that advocates for workers’ rights. It’s merely a company. A private company for the support of household members and accomplices in the main activity of this company, which is work. The job makes the man, as they say, as long as the man does the work. With the data protection itself comes a redefinition of the concept and understanding of identity. In 1943, the following was established: “Identity is defined by the colors of the theme on the mobile phone screen”. Today, identity is like a virtual currency: You may have it, without even knowing you have it, or you know you have it, so you can use it to buy tissues at a kiosk in the city center.

The play was co-produced by the Punctum Arts Organization and KunstTeatar with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Media and the City Office for Culture of the City of Zagreb.

director:

Ivan Penović

cast:

Domagoj Janković, Karlo Mrkša, Bernard Tomić, Pavle Vrkljan and Matija Čigir (in video)

stage designer:

Filip Triplat

music:

Karlo Mrkša and Filip Triplat

light designer:

Alen Marin

producer:

Romana Brajša

production assistant:

Hana Zrnčić Dim

designer:

Pavao Kuharić

photographer:

Karla Jurić

production:

UO Punctum and KunstTeatar

premiere:

May 3, 2019, KunstTeatar

duration:

90 min

The ensemble and the author’s team of the play were awarded the Croatian Theater Award for an exceptional contribution to theater art, for all its segments, for an innovative approach, a new direction of theater and a specific understanding of the world and the moment in which we live.

Bernard Tomić is the winner of the “Ivo Fici” award for the best acting performance by an actor under 28 years old at the Actor’s Festival for his role in the play “Flex”.

The play was a guest at the Days of Satire by Fadil Hadžić in 2020.