TRIPWIRES: Belarus Free Theatre workshop

On Saturday 4 December 2010, the Belarus Free Theatre held a workshop with the Tripwires group.

This is participant Isobel Palmer's account of what went on...

It is sobering to discover that for some people, theatre is a matter of life or death. For the Belarus Free Theatre, that is literally the case. The Belarus Free Theatre were in London over the weekend to perform at a fundraising event held for supporters of free speech in Belarus at the Young Vic Theatre. The day before the event, we at Tripwires were lucky to receive a visit from them, alongside a screening of one of their short plays to be showcased the following day, ‘Numbers’.

In Belarus (‘the last dictatorship in Europe’) the Belarus Free Theatre are anything but ‘free’. They are illegal. All theatre in Belarus must be approved by the state, and as the Belarus Free Theatre do not obtain a permit, in the eyes of the Belarusian government, they do not exist. For the last three years they have performed anywhere from private apartments to abandoned industrial sites or in the forests. Often staged as parties, details of their performances can only be received by text message or on social networking sites posted at the last minute. When speaking to us, Natalia Koliada, co-founder of the Belarus Free Theatre, described their audiences in Belarus as the bravest audience in the world. They often come with their passports so, if arrested, they can be identified quicker.

We started the morning session with the Free Theatre showings us a video of their show, ‘Numbers’ (part three of their show ‘Zone of Silence’) directed by Vladimir Shcherban, performed in secret in a friend’s home (who knocked down their wall especially so that they had space to perform). The performance gave an insight into Belarus through data and statistics, revealing some stark truths on issues such as mental health, abortion, illness, employment and tax. These statistics are normally withheld from the public, but the Belarus Free Theatre spent over a year and a half gathering the information. As well as their powerful political message, what cannot be denied is also just how talented this theatre company is, ‘Numbers’ was a piece of gripping physical theatre. They embodied the data, bringing it to life with powerful urgency, through their bodies and live music.

Click on images from the session below to enlarge.