Art of Being Direct: Resisting Nationalism in the Work of the Belarus Free Theatre

• In Event: The Liberatory Potentials of Memory Activism in Central-East Europe and the Balkans

Abstract

Since 2014, Russia's armed conflict and war in the Donbas region, The Belarus Free Theatre's international productions have shifted their focus to a more acute regional perspective, emphasizing solidarity among Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. This presentation analyzes two examples from the BFT project, namely the production 'Burning Doors' in 2016, which highlights the stories of activists including Pussy Riot, Petr Pavlensky, and Oleg Sentsev, and the pedagogical approach of the school Fontibras in teaching 'actions' to young Belarusian artists. By placing the concept of directness within historical, social, and political contexts, the presentation explores the boundaries and potential of the BFT's strategy. It argues that the aesthetics of directness have been redefined and intensified since 2014 due to the regional violence and the company's conditions of exile.

Author

• Margarita Kompelmakher, Alliance Theatre