Jaša Koceli is a theatre director based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He is known for his innovative creative language and interdisciplinary approach in theatre. Koceli is connecting performing arts with strong visual expression in space and costume design, lighting and screening. Together with his artistic team Koceli never ceases to challenge the conventional theatre forms and enriching them with the voice of the new generation. He finished theatre directing and sociology studies at the University of Ljubljana. 

 

In last ten years he directed twenty-five professional performances in several different theatres in Slovenia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania and several other projects as well. Some of his most well known shows include Brave New World in Prague City Theatres, Electra in National Kaunas Drama Theatre in Lithuania, operas The Magic Flute and The Sound in Slovenian National Opera and Ballet Ljubljana, 5boys in Hungarian theatre Weöres Sándor in Szombathely and The Trojan Women by Euripides in Slovenian National Theatre Nova Gorica which opened the 2019 edition of the International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama in Cyprus.

His latest performances are his own play Too Close, which he made during theatre lockdown in 2021, The Master (2022), The Amazons (2023) and No Exit (2024). 

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He created four performances in Glej Theatre (recent one is Psycho by Davorin Lenko in 2019), two performances in Ljubljana City Theatre (Café Dada and Breathless: Now), two shows in Ljubljana Puppet Theatre (Little Queens by Eva Mahkovic and Nellie Goodbye by Lutz Hübner), Pomona by Alistair McDowall in Slovenian National Theatre Drama, the iconic slovenian drama An event in the town of Goga by Slavko Grum in Anton Podbevšek Theater Novo mesto and an intimate erotic fragment Lesbos in BiTeater. 

 

He was active in the field of opera as well: besides 2019's The Magic Flute he directed his first opera Julka and Janez by the composer Jan Gorjanc and librettist Svetlana Slapšak in the SNT Ballet and Opera Ljubljana and first operette Hop Princess in his hometown of Žalec. 

 

As lighting designer he co-created three big ballet productions: two in SNT Opera and Ballet Ljubljana (Symphony of sorrowful songs and Heartmeat) and one in National Theatre in Belgrade (Dictionary of the Khazars: Dream Hunters). As assistant director he has cooperated in six institutional theatre performances with the acclaimed directors (Jovanović, Pipan, Buljan and Pandur).