Mark Bless as Milan in “Locusts” at Theater am Werk

Mark Bless took on the role of Milan in Locusts (Skakavci), a contemporary drama by Biljana Srbljanović exploring complex family relationships, generational conflict and the emotional distance between those closest to us.

Presented at Theater am Werk in Vienna by the Stanislavski Youth Theatre and directed by Marina Margo, the production gave Mark the opportunity to take on a demanding dramatic role and explore a character caught between different generations and responsibilities.

Milan is a young husband and father, but at the same time a son struggling with his own complicated relationship with his father and the feeling of never being fully accepted by him. The role placed Mark on both sides of a family relationship: as a son searching for understanding and as a father carrying responsibility for a family of his own.

The character moves between frustration, guilt, obligation and the desire for personal freedom, reflecting some of the central themes of the play: family expectations, fear of ageing, emotional distance and the difficulty of truly understanding one another across generations.

For Mark, the role was an opportunity to work with emotionally demanding material and to develop a character whose inner conflicts are often as important as what is spoken on stage.

“What interested me about Milan was that he is both a son and a father. He wants to be understood and accepted by his own father, while at the same time he already has responsibilities towards his own family. There were many different emotions and relationships to discover in one character.”

The production marked another important step in Mark’s acting experience and strengthened his interest in dramatic roles and characters with complex emotional relationships.

Performances: May 24 and 25, 2025
Venue: Theater am Werk, Vienna
Production: Stanislavski Youth Theatre
Director: Marina Margo

For this production, Mark Bless was credited under his full name, Marko Dimitrijević.