The Ulysses Theatre celebrated on Sunday, the 2nd of August 2020 on the isle of Mali Brijun their jubilee 20th birthday with a spectacular concert by Rade Šerbedžija and the band Zapadni kolodvor alongside a panoply of musical guests, year-long friends of the theatre Vlatko Stefanovski, Damir Urban, Gabi Novak. Matija Dedić, Maja Posavec, Putokaz, Nigel Osborne as well as Mimi and Nina Šerbedžija, Tatjana Aćimović being in charge of creative production.

It was precisely on the 2nd of August, 2001 that in Prosper’s Garden on the isle of Veliki Brijun that the great Vanessa Redgrave, the lauded British film and theatre actress alongside the Mostar Sinfonietta solemnly breathed life into this theatre with a charity concert under the name A Song For Love.

The event that is the 20th season of the Ulysses Theatre, for the first time in its history, took form of a sail-in program in the bay of the isle of Mali Brijun with a concert on a spacious stage on the veering on the edge of the coast-line; a projector board displayed live the colourful events taking place on stage. Over 500 audience members, seated on about 30 ships, speedboats and similar craft all firmly tied in the bay (whilst, of course, respecting all the necessary health measures) participated in the celebration with spontaneous applauses, blowing the ships’ horns and singing along with the musical guests and the video projection, which illuminated some of the theatre’s most memorable moments in its two decade-long work.

The audience was presented with a selection of over 100 video felicitations by actors and artists from all over the world, including from Ralph Fiennes, Vanessa Redgrave, Paolo Magelli, Pero Kvrgić, Ratko Polič, Milan Marić, Bojan Dimitrijević, Zijah Sokolović, Maja Izetbegović, Nina Violić, Ksenija Marinković, Livio Badurina, Goran Bogdan, Goran Grgić, Aleksandar Popovski, Borko Perić, Linda Begonja, Senka Bulić, Jelisaveta Seka Sablić, Ana Begić, Alen Liverić, Dražen Čuček, Zlatko Vitez, Senad Bašić, Goran Navojec, Josipa Lisac, Ozren Grabarić, among many, many more

James Joyce’s Room on Brijuni is officially opened on July the 27th at 12:00 AM

According to the original idea of musician Damir Urban,  this project is envisioned as an audio-visual experience situated in a grand room on the ground floor of hotel Karmen on the Island of Veliki Brijuni, which serves as the exhibition space. The original early 1900s décor and aesthetic of the hotel Karmen contributes to the journey upon which the spectators will be taken whilst exploring Joyce’s imaginary room. The space is conceptualised as the room of James Joyce through which the spectators (abiding by relevant health protocols and guidelines) will be able to explore carefully curated artistic compositions (paintings, photographs, maps, videos, audio recordings, and other significant props and artifacts). At designated times, spectators will be able to experience both music and video performances accessible only in Joyce’s room.

The exhibition space is intended to play both an educational and artistic role by enabling spectators to explore the life of James Joyce, his acclaimed novel Ulysses, and the journey of Ulysses Theatre through music, photographs, books, literary interpretations, news articles and other multimedia compositions.

The exhibition space is also intended to be a place of discovery; unveiling the discrete ways that artists were inspired and influenced by Joyce’s character and artistry in their own creations.

Spectators will have the opportunity to take on an active role and participate in the creation and growth of Joyce’s room by leaving artworks of their own, or contributing by documenting their thoughts and experiences during their exploration of Joyce’s room. The intention is to preserve the spectator’s contributions and include them in another iteration of Joyce’s room in the future.

Films made by Selma Spahić, Zijah Sokolović, Livija Pandur, Nigel Osborne and other artists will be permanent part of this creative space.

Joyce’s room will officially open with a live performance by Damir Urban, upon which there will be a series of performance pieces by artists such as Nigel Osborne, Zijah Sokolovic, Matija Ferlin etc. Creative producer of the project is Tatjana Aćimović. These performances will be accessible to viewers via social media live streams and other collaborative platforms.
James Joyce’s Room on Brijuni is intended to be both an announcement and introduction of the comprehensive multimedia project ‘Uliks’ which will be open to the public on Mali Brijuni in 2021.

On the 2nd of August, on the isle of Mali Brijun, the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the Ulysses Theatre will be celebrated with a concert by Rade Šerbedžija and the band Zapadni kolodvor, alongside several other musical guests: Darko Runder, Damir Urban, Dabi Novak, Vlatko Stefanovski, Maja Posavec, Putokaz, Nigel Osborne, Jure Ivanušič, Mimi Šerbedžija, among others. As part of the program there will be live transmissions on a projector screen by actors and long-time friends of the theatre from all over the world. The audience will be offered a retrospective of the work done in the past two decades, with hitherto unseen material. This will also be an opportunity to rejoice in the theatre’s rich history as seen through its repertoire, actors and a selection of key moments.

The celebration has been conceived as a sail-in program on the seaside, the concert and the projection taking place on a stage on the edge of the seaside and on the pier of the isle of Mali Brijun, with some highly anticipated large projector screens, as in large outdoor concerts, while the audience will follow the unfolding of the program from ships in the bay.

Audience members can reserve their seats on one of the ships working with the Ulysses Theatre or arrive by way of their own ships, with prior announcement.

For audience members who will spectate from the ships in collaboration with the Ulysses Theatre:

– The ships will set sail from Fažana for Mali Brijun at 20:30h.

– The number of audience members on said ships is restricted so as to be able to respect the measures taken to maintain social distancing in the open air.

– Every spectator is obliged to have his or her own face mask, and upon boarding the ship will have their temperature measured and hands disinfected.

For audience members who will spectate from their private ships:

– The number of spectators on one ship is equal to the restricted number of passengers according to the Sailing Regulations.

– The maximum length allowed for a ship in the bay is up to 9m.

– The owner of the ship is obliged to make the necessary reservation, and following the completed reservation he or she will receive instructions on how to buy the tickets to the performance.

– Every passenger on said ship must have a ticket in order to participate.

– Upon buying tickets for the passengers of the private ship, the owner(s) will receive at the very latest on the 30th of July precise details as to how to steer their ship into the bay of Mali Brijun, will have their sailing license checked at sea, will receive information on the organisation of the program and the reserved spot for the ship.

All additional information can be received at: ulaznice@ulysses.hr / 091 918 0598.