Mateja Koležnik
Mateja Koležnik, born in 1962 in Metlika (Slovenia), is one of the most important theater directors in Slovenia. She studied comparative literature, philosophy, and literary theory at the University of Ljubljana as well as theater directing at the Academy for Theatre, Radio, Film, and Television in Ljubljana. After initial work in the former Yugoslavia, including Ljubljana, Maribor, Zagreb, Belgrade, and Nova Gorica, she received numerous awards and honors. For example, she was awarded the Prešeren Award for Best Direction for her production of «Messer in Hennen» by David Harrower (SNG Drama Ljubljana) and the Borštnik Award for Henrik Ibsen’s «John Gabriel Borkman» (SNG Maribor). In 2018, her production of «Iwanow» (City Theatre Klagenfurt) was awarded the Nestroy Prize.
Since 2012, she has regularly directed in the German-speaking region – at Schauspiel Leipzig, Schauspiel Frankfurt, Berliner Ensemble, Theater in der Josefstadt, Burgtheater Vienna, Theater Basel, as well as multiple times at the Residenztheater Munich. For her production of Chekhov’s «Iwanow» at the City Theatre Klagenfurt, she was awarded the Nestroy Theatre Prize in 2018. Her production of «Kinder der Sonne» at Schauspielhaus Bochum was invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen in 2023.
In the 2022/2023 season, she directed «Antigone» by Sophocles at the Residenztheater, incorporating Slavoj Žižek’s «Die drei Leben der Antigone». In the 2025/2026 season, she will return to the Residenztheater to direct «Der zerbrochne Krug» by Heinrich von Kleist.
Productions
Judge Adam has a serious problem: not only does he have to cope with the severe effects of his nightly alcohol consumption, but also the sudden appearance of his superior Walter, who intends to take a close look at the administration of law in the provinces. Adam is forced to try a case publicly in court where he is obliged to investigate himself, which uses all the means at his disposal to conceal. Kleist’s disturbing comedy turns into an investigative drama about a veritable legal scandal.
Der zerbrochne Krug (The broken jug)