Elevate September 2023 | Air Serbia

Oni su krivi za sve: Mira Trailović i Jovan Ćirilov They are to blame for everything: Mira Trailović and Jovan Ćirilov

A THEATRE FESTIVAL, BUT MUCH MORE BESIDES “Strength, don’t let yourself be anyone’s”

A symbol of Belgrade, but also of the entire region; a place to get acquainted with what’s new, but al- so to reread good, old works. In the more than half a century of its ex- istence, Bitef has long been recog- nised as representing much more than a major European theatre fes- tival. When the curtain rises and the spotlights are turned on this au- tumn, the stage will be taken over by theatre artists from all over the world, who will be ready to present to the audience the power of their ideas, skills, talent and courage. This year’s Bitef, under the slo- edition of the Belgrade International Theatre Festival Belgrade will once again, from 3 rd to 10 th October, become Europe’s mainstage! Everything is ready for another

gan “Strength, don’t let yourself be anyone’s”, will host guest plays that are arriving from Germany, Lithua- nia, Hungary, Sweden, Greece, Bur- kina Faso, Belgium and Serbia. European and worldwide hits The main programme of the 57 th Bitef will open with a performance of the famous Maxim Gorky play Children of the Sun, directed for this occasion by Mateja Koležnik and produced by German theatre Schauspielhaus Bochum. Unlike the original work, this version is set in the 1960s, while the heroines and heroes are shifted to be even more familiar to today’s audience, an au- dience that continues to live in a world that’s defined by crises time and again. Also arriving at this year’s Bitef is the acclaimed Lithuanian op- era Sun & Sea, winner of the Ven- ice Biennale’s Golden Lion. Creat-

ed by Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, Vaiva Grainytė and Lina Lapelytė, it is set on a sandy beach, where people who we would ordinarily meet in such a public space use the medium of song, and singing about seemingly mundane, everyday issues, to actu- ally address the problem of the cli- mate crisis. Bringing down the curtain on this year’s edition of the festival will be the dance performance Wakatt, by author and choreographer Serge Aimé Coulibaly, who originally hails from Burkina Faso. Produced by Bel- gium’s Faso Danse Théâtre, this piece examines the fear of the other, which is evoked in an extremely exhilarat- ing way by ten dancers, accompa- nied by live music on stage. Brave new voices Mario Banushi is a multitalent- ed young actor and director original- ly from Albania, who now lives and works in Athens. His play Goodbye,

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