About the work
A drama in three acts by Croatian writer Miroslav Krleža, written 1926–1928 and first published in 1928; it premiered on 14 February 1929 at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, directed by Alfons Verli. The play forms the central part of Krleža's Glembay cycle about the decline of a wealthy Zagreb banking family.
Plot
On the night after a banquet marking the family firm's anniversary, the painter Leone returns to his father Ignjat Glembay's house after eleven years abroad. With unsparing honesty he confronts the lies, affairs and shady dealings of several generations of the family. His quarrel with his father escalates, and after the old man dies that same night, Leone attacks his stepmother Charlotte with a pair of scissors in a fit of rage.
Cultural significance
With more than 60 productions to date, Messrs. Glembay is among the most frequently staged works of Croatian drama, and Leone is regarded as one of the defining characters of South Slavic theatre. The play established the Glembay material that Krleža continued to explore in later works.