Tena Stivicic’s very talky drama is set in Zagreb in 1945, 1990 and 2011, eras of communism, independence, war, and joining the European Union, and describes how one Croatian family, driven by independent women, survived and didn’t survive under different regimes. However, it is the large house in which they live, which is the leading character; and the big question is to whom does it actually belong and will the family be able to keep it? The subject will have a special resonance for Croatians who have lived and suffered through their recent history and had to make hard decisions which they then have to justify later.
Howard Davies has directed so many of the National’s best productions and his expertise, in particular with the plays of Maxim Gorky, makes him the perfect director for this four-generation family drama and the politics which govern their actions. The first-rate ensemble includes Adrian Rawlins, Siobahn Finneran and Sophie Rundle, who, as the bride, has the last word and sets the theatre aroar.