Jaša Koceli is a Slovenian theatre director based in Ljubljana, working internationally across contemporary theatre, classical drama, opera and interdisciplinary performance. His work explores the relationship between the human body, collective memory and the visual architecture of performance. Together with his long-standing collaborators, he develops a distinctive theatrical language in which space, light, sound and movement become essential elements of storytelling.

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He holds degrees in Theatre Directing from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television and Sociology from the Faculty of Social Sciences, both at the University of Ljubljana. Over the past fifteen years, he has directed more than 30 professional productions and projects in Slovenia, Türkiye, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Croatia and Serbia. His productions have received critical acclaim and awards at theatre festivals in several countries, particularly for acting performances.

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His recent productions include Aias: The Fall of Heroes (2026), a contemporary interpretation of ancient Greek tragedy at Adana State Theatre in Türkiye; The Years (2026), based on Annie Ernaux’s work, at Ljubljana City Theatre; and Give Me a Word (2026), an interdisciplinary performance inspired by the poetry of Srečko Kosovel, created for the centenary of the poet’s death.

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His international work includes Brave New World (2024) at Prague City Theatres, Electra at the National Kaunas Drama Theatre, and 5boys at the Weöres Sándor Theatre. He also participated in Hektomeron, a collaborative project produced by the Marin Sorescu National Theatre in Craiova, Romania. His productions have been presented at major international theatre festivals, including The Trojan Women, which opened the 2019 International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama in Cyprus, and The Amazons, which opened the 3rd International Women Playwrights Theatre Festival in Istanbul in 2025 and subsequently toured to international festivals in Bursa and Serbia.

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In Slovenia, he has collaborated with many of the country’s leading theatre institutions, including Ljubljana City Theatre, Slovenian National Theatre Drama Ljubljana, Slovenian National Theatre Nova Gorica, Celje City Theatre, Ljubljana Puppet Theatre and Slovenian National Opera and Ballet Ljubljana. Selected productions include No Exit, The Master, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Magic Flute, The Sound, The Amazons, Pomona and An Event in the Town of Goga.

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In 2025, he directed Vesna Pisarović's concert at Arena Zagreb, performed before an audience of 15,000.

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He has also worked as a lighting designer on major ballet productions in Ljubljana and Belgrade.

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Koceli is the director of Paviljon Institute, an independent performing arts organisation through which he initiates, develops and produces original projects. Paviljon provides a platform for independent creation, experimentation and collaboration across artistic disciplines.