Die ASoP Stipendiat:in, eine belarussische Schauspieler:in, Schauspiellehrer:in und international erfolgreiche Regisseur:in berichtet davon, dass eine der Aufführungen ihres Belarussischen Freien Theaters (BFT) von der Polizei aufgelöst wurde und alle beteiligten Theaterleute samt dem anwesenden Publikum verhaftet und abtransportiert wurden.
Im Anschluss an die Verhaftung, die auch sie betraf, flüchtete sie nach Polen, von wo aus sie sich für die Teilnahme an ASoP bewarb.
Um ein Beispiel für die vielen berührenden Bewerbungsschreiben zu geben, die uns erreicht haben, sei hier ein Brief einer Bewerberin zitiert:
Good afternoon!
My name is a Belarusian actress, director, and theatre educator. From 2007 to 2022 I was the leading actress of the Belarus Free Theatre, which was banned in Belarus throughout this time.
In 2021 I was forced to leave Belarus for Ukraine, and then Poland, where I am today.
I would like to realize a theatre project about Belarusian political prisoners (with Maria Kolesnikova as the main character), based on real letters and drawings written in prison. The aim is to tell the real, inspiring stories of these people, to show the absurdity of the accusations against them, and thus to emphasize the importance of freedom of speech.
This project seems to me very important because the voice of Belarusian political prisoners is very quiet now. There is no communication with them, and there is no information about their state of health.
The topic of freedom of speech and freedom of belief, for which Belarusian activists, journalists, and politicians are now serving sentences, has largely ceased to concern the world public, but it is unfortunately becoming more and more relevant for many European countries.
With this performance, I want to remind the world of the importance of democracy and how easy it is to lose it.
Foto © Ylinda Nylind.
In Kooperation mit Universität Mozarteum Salzburg und Schauspielhaus Wien.
Das Projekt wird in Kooperation und mit Unterstützung
des Bundesministeriums für europäische
und internationale Angelegenheiten
(Artists Solidarity Program Europe – ASoP) realisiert.
Connection wurde mittlerweile auch in Nitra (Slowakei) und New York (USA) zur Aufführung gebracht. Die Künstlerin lebt jetzt mit ihrer Familie in Salzburg (Austria).
The Belarusian ASoP fellow, actress, drama teacher, and internationally successful director reports that one of the performances of her Belarusian Free Theatre (BFT) was broken up by the police. All the theatre practitioners involved, including the audience, were arrested and taken away. Following the arrest, which also affected her, she fled to Poland, from where she applied to take part in ASoP.
To give an example of the many touching application letters that have reached us, an excerpt from one applicant’s letter is quoted here:
Good afternoon!
I am a Belarusian actress, director, and theatre educator. From 2007 to 2022, I was the leading actress of the Belarus Free Theatre, which was banned in Belarus throughout this entire period.
In 2021, I was forced to leave Belarus for Ukraine and later for Poland, where I am currently living.
I would like to realize a theatre project about Belarusian political prisoners, with Maria Kolesnikova as the main character, based on real letters and drawings written in prison. The aim is to tell the real and inspiring stories of these people, to show the absurdity of the accusations against them, and thus to emphasize the importance of freedom of speech.
This project seems to me very important because the voice of Belarusian political prisoners is very quiet now. There is no communication with them, and there is no information about their state of health.
The topic of freedom of speech and freedom of belief, for which Belarusian activists, journalists, and politicians are now serving sentences, has largely ceased to concern the world public. Unfortunately, it is becoming more and more relevant for many European countries.
With this performance, I want to remind the world of the importance of democracy and how easy it is to lose it.
Photo © Ylinda Nylind.
In cooperation with Mozarteum university Salzburg and Schauspielhaus Wien.
This project is a cooperation
with the Austrian Federal Ministry
for European and International Affairs
(Artists Solidarity Program Europe - ASoP).
Connection has since been successfully performed in Nitra (Slovakia) and New York (USA). The artist lives now with her family in Salzburg (Austria).