ZKM stands for Zagrebačko kazalište mladih – Zagreb Youth Theater. I’ve always wondered about this name since neither the ensemble members are necessarily young nor are the staged plays exclusively directed at youth. So I did my research and found out the theater has existed for 70 years already and was active at several locations in town, until finally they moved into the building in Tesla street not far from the main square where it still can be found today. Originally it started as a theater college, which is where the name comes from, and it still offers an educational program for children and youth in the field of dance, drama and puppetry.

ZKM is one of my favorite theaters to go since I’d say it’s the theater house with the most contemporary approach in Zagreb. Only the student theater ensembles dare to experiment even more. ZKM shows a very critical attitude towards current society in its plays, often pointing at issues we prefer not to speak about in a shocking but mostly convincing way. The plays that are staged are based on contemporary, but also modern and classic drama texts, to which they succeed to find an approach that resonates with the audience in 2019.