Belarus Free Theatre makes debut in Washington
- 14.09.2009, 14:46
On the 10th anniversary since public leaders Anatol Krasouski and Viktar Hanchar’s disaperances, an American first night of the play based on real events is to take place in Davis Performing Arts Center, Washington, US.
Georgetown University Theatre and Performance Studies Program, in association with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and the civil initiative “We Remember” presents the internationally acclaimed Belarus Free Theatre at the Davis Performing Arts Center’s Devine Studio Theatre, located on GU’s main campus, on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 15, 16, at 7.30 p.m.
The underground troupe from Minsk, banned in its own country, offers the first night of “Jeans Generation”, a semi-autobiographical monolog of a freedom fighter, who tells about his formation in the counter-cultural environment, which considered jeans and Western music symbols of freedom.
On September 16 the company presents the U.S. premiere of “Discover Love,” based on the true story of Iryna Krasouskaya, whose husband Anatol, a businessman who supported the Belarus opposition movement, was kidnapped and murdered. The performance takes place exactly 10 years after Anatol and Victar Hanchar, the Vice-Speaker of the Belarusian Parliament, disappeared on September 16, 1999. Irina, who is now based in Washington, D.C., co-founded We Remember, a civil initiative that disseminates information about politically motivated disappearances of Belarusian citizens and informs the world community about the situation. A memorial reception organized by Iryna Krasouskaya follows the September 16 premiere.
“This is an extraordinary opportunity to introduce the Georgetown community and D.C. audiences to two urgent works from a world-class company doing theater that couldn’t matter more,” says Davis Performing Arts Center Artistic Director Derek Goldman.
Since its founding in 2005 in Europe's last surviving dictatorship, Belarus Free Theatre has been giving memorable performances in apartments, bars, and other private locations, alerting audiences to the location of performances and time — often the middle of the day — through text messages and e-mail. The husband-and-wife team of Mikalai Khalezin (Nikolai Khalezin) and Natallya Kalyada (Natalya Koliada) and director Uladzimir Shcherban (Vladimir Scherban) created the company as a means to resist government censorship and have garnered praise from around the world for their powerful message and visceral, dynamic aesthetic. “Drama doesn’t come more urgently political than in the work of the Belarus Free Theatre,” noted The Times. Renowned playwright Tom Stoppard has praised their “marvelous work,” noting that “What I saw in Minsk is much closer to a true theatre, to its sources, to its true objective,” and Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter has said, “They’re bringing back the essence and the true meaning of the theatre.”
Described as a love story, “Discover Love” explores the reflections of a woman who finds out her husband has been kidnapped and murdered. Following the initial shock of the tragedy, her thoughts turn to words left unsaid, dreams unrealized. The work intermingles the experience of the widow Irina Krasovskaya with that of similar stories of women from Asia, South America and Latin America. For “Discover Love” and the troupe’s previous activities, Belarus Free Theatre received the French Republic Human Rights Prize in 2007, marking the first time in the history of the prize that it was awarded to a cultural institution. Collection of materials for the piece took nine years, and the play launched an artistic campaign to support the UN Convention against enforced disappearances in the world.
Both “Generation Jeans” and “Discover Love” are underscored by a soundtrack from DJ Laurel (Lavr Berzhanin) and performed in Russian with subtitles.
September 15, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. - Generation Jeans
September 16, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. - Discover Love
Davis Performing Arts Center, Devine Studio Theatre
(37th and O Streets, NW – Washington, D.C.)
Tickets are $12 general; $10 faculty/staff/senior (65 or older); and $5 student.
To order, visit http://performingarts.georgetown.edu
or call (202) 687-ARTS (2787)
The performances are offered in association with the world premiere of “ECLIPSED” at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, based during the Liberian civil war in 2003. Woolly Mammoth will host a special post-show discussion titled “From Liberia to Belarus: Theatre for Human Rights” following the 8 p.m. performance of “ECLIPSED” on September 9 with Georgetown University Theater and Performance Studies Program Director Maya Roth.