Written by: Iva Stilinović Grahovac
Photos: Tomislav Marić
…
As the lead actor of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, Livio Badurina (58) possesses the ability to convey powerful messages through the artistic language of theater, while maintaining authenticity and depth in every project. A versatile and multi-talented artist with a career spanning acting, stage movement, photography, multimedia, and fashion, Badurina blends expressions of mimicry and movement with verbal communication to create performances that carry strong emotional and intellectual impact. And he has no plans to stop…
Could it be said that your career began in the 1980s with your role in “Dundo Maroje” at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival? What did that role mean to you at the time?
Although I’m not inclined to digress, I must mention what preceded it. In the 1988/89 theater season, as a third-year student at the Academy of Dramatic Arts, I played three major and very notable roles at the Croatian National Theatre in Rijeka. I played the role of Muhla in Matišić’s “The Legend of St. Muhla” directed by Marin Carić, Hlestakov in Gogol’s “The Government Inspector” directed by Vito Taufer, and the Professor in Ionesco’s “The Lesson” directed by Joško Juvančić.
At the time, it seemed to me that one role opened the door to another, and soon the doors began to open in different genre and directorial-aesthetic directions. At the end of my first theater season, I played Maro in the musical “Dundo Maroje” at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, directed by Vlado Štefančić. Of course, I don’t need to mention how much these roles marked my visibility in the theater world, but what resonated in my head back then were questions about finding my own acting sensibility, which I still try to keep functional today. I quickly realized that the world of theater contains hundreds of invisible layers that either shape and strengthen you or make you anxious.
There are also invisible levels in theater that can lead you into the surreal. When I played Maro at Gundulić Square in 1989, I couldn’t have imagined that nearly 20 years later, I would find myself again at that very square in “Dundo Maroje”, this time directed by Ozren Prohić, but in the role of – Laura. Same place, same comedy, same love relationship, but from a female perspective.
How did your collaboration with the late Slovenian director Tomaž Pandur come about, in whose performances you were the “trademark”, playing all the main roles? Pandur himself once said he couldn’t imagine his plays without you.
Tomaž Pandur had an incredible creative energy that allowed him to create his theatrical worlds even in circumstances that seemed impossible. His theater of dreams now resides in the memories of those who recognized those worlds as their own. I remember walking into the audience of the Croatian National Theatre in Rijeka when Pandur’s “Scheherazade” was being performed, and I was completely captivated by the show. Looking back now, I would dare to say that at that moment, on a subconscious level, I recognized my near future, which, thanks to theatrical quantum threads, quickly materialized.
I acted in 15 of his productions, and the last three that he staged at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb – “War and Peace”, “Medea”, and “Michelangelo” – remain etched in my memory due to his inexhaustible creativity and the ease of communication and understanding between director and performer.
How did the experience in Maribor shape you, working there, living there, and the people you encountered?
It shaped me profoundly; at 25, I found myself in a different city and country where I had to master the language and tackle challenging projects that demanded my utmost effort. The Drama of the Slovenian National Theatre (SNG), under Pandur’s leadership, was like another academy for me after I had just completed the previous one. The production, organization, as well as the working conditions and opportunities for projects, were of a high professional standard, and you could feel that professionalism – or rather, dedication – the moment you stepped into the theater.
It’s no wonder that every one of Pandur’s performances was produced in collaboration with prestigious European festivals and toured across Europe and Latin America. Productions like “Faust”, “Hamlet”, “Carmen”, the triptych “La Divina Commedia”, “Russian Mission”, and “Babylon” have left their mark on the global theater map and are preserved in the documentary archives of Austrian ORF and the Arte channel.
How much those years in Maribor meant to me, and how deeply I dedicated those six years to a single profession, is reflected in the fact that, even today, a 10-meter-long graffiti still remains on the building where I lived, at Gregorciceva 33b, reading: “Livio, I love you.”
You once became the youngest lead actor at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. What did that title mean to you then, and what does it mean to you now?
The stage, among other things, can be a very cruel place. Everything is visible on you. How deeply you’ve mastered the “score” you must perform, whether you enjoy the directorial concept or find it distasteful, whether you lean toward teamwork or solo performances. Regardless of everything, if you’re insecure, you may go your own way, even if it doesn’t fit the framework provided… All these parameters, and there are many more, influence how convincing or magical someone may seem. These visible-invisible levels develop and evolve over time.
Now… Well, it brings joy when someone notices that you’ve done something with yourself and that you’re okay at what you do. As for the title? Among other things, it gives you a slightly higher pay coefficient…
How would you describe your acting sensibility?
An actor’s sensibility is reflected in the choice of projects you select. Besides quality content, I’ve always been interested in the form in which certain content will be articulated and how much it will resonate with modernity. Various directors, together with their creative teams, have shaped my stage taste over time and continually opened new spaces of imagination, as well as tools for me to refine my performance.
Tomaz Pandur, Paolo Magelli, Janusz Kica, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Ivica Buljan, Sasa Bozic, Ksenija Zec, Pascal Rambert, Sergej Pristas, Marina Petkovic, Tomislav Soban, and Matija Ferlin- these are the directors without whom my toolbox as an actor would be significantly. poorer.
You seem to be selective about your roles in theater, film, or series. How do you choose them?
That’s just the impression I may give; sometimes I think long and hard, and sometimes I immediately say, “Yes, great.” Sometimes, due to lack of time, I’m simply unable to commit to a project, because if I join, I try to be 100 percent free and present.
How did your love for photography begin? Who do you photograph most often, and is there a period or a particular photo you’re especially attached to?
My interest in photography and video happened spontaneously. Somewhere in the early 2000s, I was sitting at a rehearsal and suddenly realized that I was constantly surrounded by photogenic situations and colleagues. Not long after, I remembered the slogan from Srnec’s campaign for Efka in the 1950s, which went, “Stop time… take a picture!” That slogan motivated me to try something new.
I’ve created a lot of material, and I’ve slowly begun editing and organizing it into small segments, thinking that, after some time, it might be interesting to a broader audience. The title of the series of short videos, “Diary of an Actor”, came to me unexpectedly, and it seemed fitting.
You’ve won many awards for your work. Is there one that holds a special place in your heart or on your shelf? Why?
I don’t display awards in my home like trophies. It was nice to receive them, I know where they are stored, and that’s enough.
Last year’s award-winning play “Reality” by the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb was a big success. You created the play together with director Tomislav Šoban and your colleague Nina Violić. How important is creative freedom to you in the production process?
When I talk about freedom in the context of creating “Reality”, I mean two things. The time allowed for the play to develop and the trust of Drama director Nenni Delmestre, who fully supported Tomislav Šoban’s directorial debut, as well as the choice of topic or title.
Tomislav, Nina, and I, along with the entire creative team, dove into the challenge without hesitation, even though at the beginning, we couldn’t imagine where the exploration would take us. Through a wealth of improvisations and everything that a creative process entails, we created a performance that, due to its unique structure, seamlessly balances between the abstract and the concrete, skillfully questioning the reality we live in.
Performing a role with text or without, body language or speech – which excites you more?
Both excite me, but non-verbal theater carries a different kind of presence on stage, which I find more challenging and richer because, in those moments, your inner landscape becomes much larger and more precise.
Your video installation “Experimental Hall/Space of Creation and Disappearance”, part of the series “Diary of an Actor”, was exhibited in Pula in November. Through video works, visitors can glimpse the process of creating a performance. Is it more important for the audience to understand the effort behind the creation of a performance, or should the magic simply happen, making everything appear effortless?
In such short formats, it’s impossible to capture all the stages and layers of creating a performance, but that wasn’t my intention. I filmed from the position of a participant and witness to the process, trying to capture some precious moments that quickly pass and disappear.
At the invitation of Matija Ferlin, the exhibition was set up in the gallery of INK, as part of the Theater Night event. The video works, presented as visual essays, were my tribute to the theater – a space of creation, inspiration, and a moment transferred into memory through a gaze.
The public often thinks that being an artist is a kind of privilege. What’s your take on that?
My profession is my choice.
What has shaped you as an artist?
Perseverance.
Public perception of “public” figures can be misleading, shaped by media or social networks. What’s your channel of representation?
My channel of representation is the theater, and occasionally film or drama series. From social networks, I use Instagram, solely as a platform where I post works from my photo-video journal.
You’ve mentioned how people used to crave their “15 minutes of fame”, and today they’ve mostly achieved it through the modern way of life. In the future, they will probably beg for 15 minutes of anonymity. Does our reality seem frightening to you?
We live in a time of great transformations, both globally and personally. This currently overcharged world of speed, where everything has become mega, gala, premium, and extra, which we witness every day, is heading toward its destruction. Yes, at first glance, it sounds truly frightening. But maybe it isn’t. Perhaps it’s just a cycle that happened long ago and has brought us to the same position we find ourselves in today.
