Nušic, Branislav

Born Oct. 8, 1864, in Belgrade; died there Jan. 19, 1938. Serbian writer and playwright. Academician of the Serbian Academy of Sciences (1933).

Nušić studied law at the University of Belgrade. In 1887 he was imprisoned for his satirical song “The Two Slaves.” Nušić served in the Yugoslav government and diplomatic corps; he was also a journalist. He headed national theaters in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Skopje, and Sarajevo.

The author of both poetry and prose works, Nušić is best known for his plays. His first work was a play, the comedy The People’s Deputy (1883; staged 1896 and published 1924). His early plays closely adhered to the realistic traditions of Serbian national culture and Russian literature. Such plays, including the comedies A Suspicious Character (1887, staged 1923; based on N. V. Gogol’s The Inspector-General), Special Influence (1888), and An Ordinary Man (1899, staged 1900), ridiculed bourgeois parlamentarianism, corruption, and bureaucracy.

Nušić’ plays written between 1903 and 1914 were less satirical. The most popular play of this period was the heroic drama Hadźi Loja (1908). Nušić’ biting satire again came to the fore in his comedies Madame Minister (1929), Mister Dollar (1932), The Grieving Family (1935), The Doctor (1936), and The Deceased (1937). These plays harshly criticize the politics and mores of bourgeois society and expose narrow-minded and malicious philistinisrh together with its vanity and ambition. These plays also depict the rise of fascism. Nušić’ plays are world famous. Many of them have been staged in the Soviet Union.