Devised theatre project
Incubator
Mladinsko Theatre
Crew
Text: creative team
Directed by: Oliver Frljić
Dramaturgy: Goran Injac
Set design: Igor Pauška
Costume design: Slavica Janošević
Assistant director: Bor Ravbar
Set designer assistant: Demijan Pintarič
Choreography consultant: Dragana Alfirević
Lighting design: Kristina Kokalj
Music selection: Oliver Frljić
Sound design: Sven Horvat
Language consultant: Mateja Dermelj
Stage manager: Liam Hlede
Cast
Lina Akif
Daša Doberšek
Klemen Kovačič
Draga Potočnjak k. g.
Matej Recer
Blaž Šef
Vito Weis
About the performance
A lullaby for the children who learned, before words, the grammar of death
The incubator, a critical tool in rescuing premature infants symboliaes an unwavering commitment to safeguarding every human life, even those yet to attain biological self-sufficiency. By precisely regulating temperature, humidity, oxygen levels, and minimizing external stimuli, incubators significantly contribute to the survival and healthy development of infants born prematurely.
The theatre exploration interconnects the symbolic value of the incubators and the brutal actuality of the Gaza war. The haunting images of incubators in Al Schiffa’s hospital deprived of power, and the infants left to huddle together for warmth, bring forth a pressing inquiry into the limits of (in)humanity.
Oliver Frljić attempted to create a similar project in Germany, which has been his theatre domicile in the last few years. This proved impossible due to German suppression of any pro-Palestinian voices. So, he reconnected with the Mladinsko Theatre and its ensemble with which he created some of his most resonant (and controversial) projects that toured Europe and beyond.
Even though the play is a collage of scenes, it remains dramaturgically coherent. Through the multilayered language of contemporary theatre and performance, it opens dimensions and depths of what has recently been called hell on Earth. In its extremes – where crying and laughter merge into a single scream of horror – it reveals the absurdity and tragedy of the human experience. At its core, this is a performative inquiry: a combination of documentary material and serious questioning by the actors. It neither moralises nor passes judgment.
Dušan Rogelj, Radio Slovenija, 18 May 2025
Oliver Frljić knows that children are both the first and final point of humanity and inhumanity, and he also knows they are the most effective 'tool' for stirring emotion. If he 'used' them, it is because it is high time—because the scale of inhumanity is too great. […] Through the performative deconstruction and escalation of the story about how medical staff saved premature babies in Al-Shifa Hospital without electricity, he amplified the discomfort and suspended it to the very end, so much so that, as is often the case with his productions, it was hard to applaud.
Petra Vidali, Večer, 28 May 2025
Frljić deliberately focuses on the most extreme cases to make a point. One could argue that there is a risk this performance might be seen as antisemitic. However, the director does not target Jews as a nation. As in all his work, he critiques nationalist narratives and how they can overshadow the human perspective. He highlights extreme cases to draw attention to what he sees as urgent realities – such as the deaths of children in Gaza.
Karolina Bugajak, SEEstage, 26 May 2025
85 minutes, no interval
Video
Photo gallery
