One of the most significant plays at Atelje 212, based on the dramatic text by Dušan Kovačević, had 299 performances from its premiere in 1973 until the last performance on June 9, 1985, just a month and a half before the death of the great Zoran Radmilović.
“Radovan the Third” is a story about a man who couldn’t find his way, coming from his Homeland to the big city, constantly yearning for his Homeland even though he cannot return there. He lives with his wife (Rumenka, the daughter of a peasant named Stanislav, a pretentious fashion designer), his daughter Georgina (who has been pregnant for five years but cannot give birth unmarried to Radovan, while the father of the child is a member of the enemy, the neighbor, from the Vilotić family, who is now wandering around America), and his father-in-law Stanislav (who had some property and has unsettled accounts with Radovan from the past, sleeping in the bathroom). Also, a member of the family is Katica, the daughter Radovan wanted to be a son, so he turned Katica into a tomboy who drives a refrigerated truck and whistles at girls. There is also a prisoner, one of the Vilotićs, Jelenče, a misunderstood poet, as well as the Waiter, Osman Avramović, VK, initially an arrogant fat guy, and later Georgina’s suitor. Radovan is obsessed with a series about George, and due to its postponement for the broadcast of the Moon landing, he unsuccessfully attempts suicide.
The play was known for Radmilović’s constant improvisations and famous lines that are still remembered today:
“The sky over Zemun frowned as if sh*t was about to fall!”
“He asked me what I’ve read… He asked me what I’ve read? Is my impression deceptive or not, he asked me what I’ve read? I was a library member for a year… A year, I was a member! Had a membership card, special colors. He asked me what I’ve read? I can enter the library in broad daylight. I enter, sit down, order, eat, drink. I don’t care…”
“Because Grandpa is a persona! Of a striking nature!”
“Corrupt German people, damn it. I didn’t expect that!”
“Stanislav, what crap are you talking? I’m asking you nicely, in a humane way, what crap are you talking? Ask him about food!”
“Mosquitoes like storks, damn it! They bite me with their teeth intending to ruin me!”
“I would kindly ask you, Rumenka, to pay attention to your behavior. Fundamentally pay attention to the behavior…
“In today’s world, as soon as your picture appears in the newspapers, you are automatically popular… Except in obituaries.”
“Either your life will be like flowers or you won’t be around anymore.”
In addition to Zoran, the roles were played by: Mira Banjac, Milutin Butković, Taško Načić, Maja Čučković, Milan Caci Mihailović, and Tatjana Beljakova.
