The idea for the play was born in March 2026, so preparations for the play began in April. The coordination of activities was led by Zoran Pavljašević. The date of the play was agreed with the Cultural Center, and Zoran Pavljašević organized the cast from the Academy of Dramatic Arts. He wrote the narrations for the play and prepared the light and sound effects for the play. The actors gladly accepted the roles, especially considering the innovativeness of the play and the theme itself. The play was preceded by the purchase of the necessary stage props, and 4 acting rehearsals were held on the Chamber Stage.
The ambient-documentary-play-processional play “Banker 2594” is a unique artistic project that combines history, documents and theater, and was performed on 11.5.2026. at the Chamber Stage of the Youth Center from 17.30. (on the day of Leonard Banker's death 90 years ago). The Chamber Stage hall was almost filled with the audience who came after the exhibition to experience the theatrical interpretation of the life of Leonard Banker. The play is called „Banker 2594“ after Leonard Banker's prison number from the penitentiary in Sremska Mitrovica, where he served a 5-year sentence for revolutionary activities. The play was designed to be based on historical facts, or rather on original documentation - documentation collected by members of the „Rino Zandonai“ Association. Everything that the audience saw on stage was based on documents, and primarily relates to the period of Leonard's stay in the penitentiary in Sremska Mitrovica and in the prison hospital in Belgrade. The performance provided an authentic stage atmosphere on the streets of Tuzla and in the theater space.
The ambient performance took place in two spaces: on the streets of Tuzla where the gendarmes escorted Leonard from the Štok prison in Tuzla to the penitentiary in Sremska Mitrovica (Youth Center Tuzla), and a stage performance on the Chamber Stage.
The first part of the play, i.e. program took place on the streets of the city of Tuzla. Two gendarme actors in uniform escorted the Banker in chains through the city streets. The audience were random passers-by, and the performance was part of a kind of journey through time, through Tuzla in the 1930s, through the story of a man who ended up in prison and lost his life because of his beliefs.
The second part of the play took place on the chamber stage of the Tuzla Youth Center, where the story reaches its emotional climax. It contains the phase of Leonardo's stay in the penitentiary in Mitrovica and the phase of his stay and death in the prison hospital in Belgrade, where he died on May 11, 1936.
The play was created based on the proposal and concept of Tihomir Knežiček, and the director and producer of the play is Zoran Pavljašević, a professor at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Tuzla. The dramatization was done by Alisa Brkić, and the play starred Damir Mahmutović, Alisa Brkić, Nina Terzić, Danijel Pušonjić, Noris Sakić and Damir Džanić. The producer was Zoran Pavljašević. The play was supported by the National Theatre Tuzla and the Red Cross of the City of Tuzla, who provided the props for the play. The play was also attended by Zoran Banker - Leonard Banker's grandson, who in his emotional address to the audience thanked Tuzla for preserving the culture of remembrance of the name and works of his grandfather Leonard Banker.
The performance was covered and reported by RTV TK and RTV 7. The entire ambient performance was filmed with 3 HD cameras, so after editing, it will probably be shown to the public separately in the coming months.
