The Golden Dragon

Producer Slovensko stalno glrdališče Trst
Opening 12. 11. 2010 Velika dvorana, SSG Trst
Running time 1 hour 20 minutes. No interval.

Original title Der goldene Drache

Translator Mojca Kranjc
Director Janusz Kica
Costume designer Slavica Radovič Nadarević
Music by Arturo Annecchino
Lighting designer Peter Korošic
Language consultant Jože Faganel

Cast
Young Man (Grandfather, Asian, Waitress, Cricket) Romeo Grebenšek
Woman over 60 (Granddaughter, Asian, Ant, Grocer) Maja Blagovič
Young woman (Man in striped shirt, Asian with toothache, Barbiefucker) Lara Komar
Man over 60 (Young man, Asian, Second hostess) Vladimir Jurc
Man (Woman in dress, Asian, First hostess) Primož Forte

In 2010, The Golden Dragon earned Roland Schimmelpfennig the playwright of the year award at the Mülheimer Theatertagen festival. The play combines fragments of events from various people's lives, all revolving around a surreal and simultaneously very real solution to the problem of a toothache suffered by a waiter who serves exotic meals at the Golden Dragon restaurant. The text presents a dual challenge, in terms of acting and content. The author envisaged several roles for each of the five actors, played in an apparently absurd manner – which indeed draws on the archetypal ancient Greek theatre – with men playing women's roles, and older actors playing young characters. This is the point of departure for a narrative about the problems of immigration; the text avoids pretentious moralizing while touching upon the topics of immigration, the lofty attitude towards those who are different, the indifference of civil society towards the rights, human components and culture of non-European neighbours.