Montažstroj

Early projects

In the first few years after its formation, Montažstroj focused on the theatricalisation of football and elements of pop culture, producing performances, installations, videos, and choreographic works.^[3][4] Their early work was significantly influenced by their lived experience of socialism, the shifts of post‑communism in Croatia, and the war in Yugoslavia during the 1990s.^[3][5]

Montažstroj's first professional production, "VATROTEHNA", premiered in 1990, drawing on Promethean myth and the fate of V. E. Meyerhold.^[3][6] In 1991, they produced "RAP OPERA 101", which combined theatre, mass media, and commentary on the war.^[3] The same year, the group also produced the patriotic video "CROATIA IN FLAME" (Hrvatska u plamenu).^[3]

Performingunit

In 1997, Montažstroj began pursuing a long‑term goal of building an international company with an artistic identity not bound to a particular culture.^[4] Šeparović, the founder of Montažstroj, formed a group called Performingunit in the Netherlands in the same year. The group focused on individual position and identity, highlighting performers as the main component of each production.^[7]

During this period, they produced works such as "TERRIBLE FISH" (Strašna riba), based on Sylvia Plath’s poetry; "WHO IS? WOYZECK", based on Georg Büchner’s Woyzeck; and "The Encyclopedia of the Dead" (Enciklopedija mrtvih), based on a story by Danilo Kiš.^[7]

Interdisciplinary projects

Montažstroj's projects "T‐FORMANCE", "T‐FAKTOR", and "THE THEATRE YOU DESERVE" were multimedia interactive events that explored terrorism and media spectacle, with a pronounced use of new media and participatory formats.^[5][7][8] "THIS IS THE THEATRE YOU DESERVE" (ovo je pozorište koje zaslužujete) is documented as a participatory project that tests audience expectations and responsibility.^[8]

In 2008, the theatrical production "TIMBUKTU" addressed themes of social exclusion in its staging and concept.^[9]

Social engagement

"MY HEART BEATS FOR HER" (Srce moje kuca za nju) (2010) juxtaposed football with the realities of unemployed women, reconstructing Croatia's victory over England at Wembley on 21 November 2007, using a women's cast and participatory framing.^[10][11] In 2010, "FIRE-TECHNICS 2.0" (Vatrotehna v 2.0) revisited the group's early vocabulary to reflect on a decade of social change through an updated performance matrix.^[12][13]

In 2014, "LITTLE MAN WANTS TO CROSS THE LINE" (Mali čovjek želi preći granicu) drew on the spirit of the Yugoslav new wave compilation 'Paket aranžman' to stage a large community "choir of little people," blending professionals and non‑professionals.^[14] Montažstroj's 2014 music video "COMMUNISM" (Komunizam) forms part of the broader multimedia project "WHERE'S THE REVOLUTION, SCUM?" (Gdje je revolucija, ološu?), extending the collective's engagement with social critique across video and performance platforms.^[15][16]

Film

The project "COUNTERATTACK" (Kontranapad) (2013) addresses the problem of landmines in the broader context of environmental pollution and the long‑term repercussions of war on society.^[17] Conceived as a film and performance initiative, the project employs audiovisual and performing arts strategies to highlight the issue of landmines and their human consequences.^[17] Within the collective's dance practice, the project is framed as one "in which dance is more than art and every step a matter of life and death", underscoring its risk‑conscious, advocacy‑driven approach.^[18]