After a certain Marin Medak called on Croatian veterans and all citizens to boycott the Belgrade play "People from Above", the guest appearance in Osijek was cancelled. The reason: it stars Sergej Trifunović, who "is not welcome because of his earlier statements about Croatia."
The hosting of the Belgrade play "People from Above" in Osijek was canceled because he is acting in it Sergej Trifunovic.
This happened immediately (the media claims after 24 hours) after a certain Marin Medak shared a post on his Facebook account that Sergej Trifunović "is not welcome because of his earlier statements about Croatia".
There was no announcement from the "Franjo Krežma" Concert Hall of the Osijek Cultural Center as to why the guest appearances scheduled for September 7 and 8 were canceled for the Belgrade artists, only later it was explained what happened.
Photo: Promo/Benny GasiA scene from the play "People from Above"
We did not manage to find out what Sergej Trifunović thinks about all this, even though the conversation was arranged.
The show is famous in the world.
The play "People from Above" was directed by Patrik Lazić based on the text of the Spanish writer Sesko Guy. On the website of the Theater on the Hill, it is written about the play that since its premiere ten years ago in Barcelona, the piece has been performed all over the world and that the Theater on the Hill has received the exclusive right for this part of Europe to stage it.
Photo: PromoPlay poster
There is nothing in the play that could disturb the Croatian audience: the arrival of the neighbors, quiet people from above, for a joint dinner, and their unusual offer to the hosts, opens up a series of humorous situations, (un)pleasant truths and big life questions about loneliness, emotional distance from partners, mid-life crisis, the most important of which is how so many freedoms won have led us to an unprecedented global epidemic of loneliness.
Sergej Trifunović and Aleksandra Tomić, and Aleksej Bjelogrlić and Iva Ilinčić play two opposing worldviews, two life and partnership logics.
Marin Medak's Facebook post does not even mention the play.
Call for boycott
As if he were a representative of some group, he directly, speaking in the plural, calls on "Croatian veterans, associations that emerged from the Homeland War of the city of Osijek, as well as all proud citizens to raise their voices and clearly say: The dignity of our homeland is priceless!"
Then he says that the guest appearance of "Serbian actor Sergej Trifunović, the same man who publicly, without any shame, insulted the Croatian police, the state and its institutions in the most vulgar way, using vocabulary below any level of human dignity," was announced.
At the end, he asks: "Is the pride of Croatia and the blood shed for this country a cheaper ticket to the theater? It is unacceptable that individuals who spit in the public space on everything that is sacred in the Republic of Croatia, come here to fill their pockets and act as cultural role models. Croatia is no one's back, nor is it an ATM from which those who honor our country and its officials with the most heinous insults will withdraw money."
It's better to give up.
The Cultural Center of Osijek explained that they are neither the organizer, nor the co-organizer, nor the client of the show, but the external organizer only rented the hall. After the reactions that followed in the public, the representatives of the Center spoke with the organizer and, as they announced, "agreed on the proposal to give up hosting".
Event from Split
Trifunović's insults referred to by Marin Medak are from September 2023.
Someone in Split reported him for letting his German Shepherd among the bathers without a muzzle and a leash, and when the police arrived, he was allegedly not noticed but argued and insulted them, so he ended up in the Municipal Misdemeanor Court. The court fined him 500 euros plus 50 euros in court costs because of the dog.
The next day, he again led the dog without a leash and muzzle, so he was fined another 200 euros.
Trifunović then commented on those events on social media and insulted Split police officers. This cost him another 1.000 euros, which he paid at the Bajakovo border crossing on his way back to Serbia.
He responded again with comments on social networks. The Croatian police reacted to this again, and due to repeated offenses of insulting and belittling an official, he was banned from entering the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Medak and the group he represents believe that this is why the play, of which Sergej Trifunović is a part, should not go to Croatia.
Director: Primitive and childish reaction
Patrik Lazić, the director of the play, wrote on his Instagram account that "we can think one way or another about Sergej's earlier statements, but refusing hospitality to anyone who in any way questions or is critical of some part of the Croatian identity is a primitive and childish reaction. It does not reflect maturity and determination, but the fear of facing those who do not necessarily think of us as we do".
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