Western civilisation.
form of a trash musical, the play develops in a completely absurd way, and again, unfortunately, provides a realistic story about the deviations of Serbian society, but also of other pillaged and devastat- ed Eastern European societies. The leading figure of political theatre in the region, and increasingly in Europe, is Oliver Frljić, who comes to Bitef with two plays - Six Characters in Search of an Author (Zagreb) and Goяki – Alternative for Germany? (Berlin). This time Frljić once again, in his own unique, quasi-documen- tary and politically direct way, address- es his favourite topic – the strengthen- ing of the right and the social function of theatre in such a context, its poten- tial for political resistance. The selection of the main programme also includes Theatre NO99, an interna- tionally recognised troupe from Esto- nia, which comes with the play NO43
Filth which is a form of physical theatre, with a distinctive visual aspect and cen- tral theme, as much metaphorical and literary and scenic, “rolling in the mud”. Renowned Russian and European theatre critic Marina Davydova comes to Bitef with the installation Eternal Russia, under the production of Berlin’s HAU The- atre. This installation is actually a giant labyrinth of rooms that lead us through different periods in the political and cul- tural history of Russia. The PA’AM project of young artist Na- dav Barnea, who is this year’s “discovery” of Bitef, boils down to a spectacular light and video installation. On several televi- sion screens that hang in a kaleidoscopic light-shaped and deconstructed space, abstract video works are emitted, accom- panied by voices from off-stage that re- count stories about intimate betrayals, deaths of loved ones, painful memories.
On the thematic-problematic front, the slogan“World Without Us”can create a handful of different associations, but we were primarily thinking of three: a world without“real”people, a world (fac- ing) the apocalypse and the phenomenon of death. These associations are strong- ly interconnected, because a world with- out real people, a world of non-people, leads, sooner or later, to a cataclysm of epic proportions after which nothing re- mains: only death, or rather a world with- out people. This vision of a “world with- out real people”, and which indicates a general collapse, relates to the complete- ly tangible, dangerous tendencies that characterise Europe and the world today. This is about right-wing populism, xen- ophobia, intolerance, authoritarian re- gimes (so-called “illiberal democracies”), which break down democratic institu- tions and the system of human rights, which is even happening in those coun- tries that represent their cradles, and all of that, to a greater or lesser extent, in conjunction with the thievery of capi- talist forms. This thematic focus evolved from an authentic, personal feeling of un- certainty, anxiety and fear, and not from some ideologically predetermined and impassioned stance. It is precisely such an intimate and painful shriek of admonishment that is brought by the play Odilo. Obscuration. Oratorio, by one of the leading Sloveni- an avant-gardists of the 1980s. Dragan Živadinov, who points to the past in two ways with this project of his – both to the days of Nazism and to the NSK art movement, which is also part of the his- tory of Bitef – which is why this project proved to be ideal for the Prologue of the 52nd Bitef. This year’s festival will officially open with the musical show Suite No. 3 ‘Eu- rope’, by French director Joris Lacoste, who was the most pleasant surprise of the 50th Bitef with the play Suite No. 2 (Special Jury Prize and Audience Prize). This time we’ll watch and hear 28 docu- mentary audio tracks from 28 EU coun- tries, in the languages of each of them, and on the topic of negative phenomena of contemporary Europe and the world: rightist populism, xenophobia, consum- erism, authoritarian regimes. The authors who form part of the selection of the 52nd Bitef also include drama writer and performer Maja Pelević, whose Bollywood project is an innova- tive, different form of “political theatre” than the one we’ve grown accustomed to in Serbia during recent years. In the
Projekat PA’AM mladog umetnika Nadava Barnee ovogodišnje je otkriće Bitefa The PA’AM project of young artist Nadav Barnea, is this
year’s Bitef “discovery”
Projekat Bolivud je inovativan, drugačiji oblik
političkog pozorišta
The Bollywood project is an innovative,
different form of “political theatre”
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