Working abroad has turned out to be the alternative to domestic state theater. Let`s put the work of talented individuals away (for example, Palina Dabravoĺskaja, actress and stage director) and have a look at the artistic groups which left Belarus. Here we see the Belarus Free Theater, "Kupalaŭcy", "August Theater" and Team Theater.
Such troupes are permanently experiencing a lack of connection with their regular audience, facing the necessity to operate in a different language environment, and they have to choose between online and offline projects. The former make it possible to establish a connection with the Belarusian audience, but their disadvantage is the absence of a keen response to the performance, which artists tend to get accustomed to. While the advantage of the latter is the presence of such a response and the existence of stage presence sensation. At the same time, there is a seat occupancy problem (it becomes very evident abroad that the theater as an elite art has never been a mass phenomenon).
The abovementioned theatre groups have been dealing with those issues in their own way.
The Free Theater seems to be the most successful. In March 2022 they staged "Dogs of Europe" inspired by the novel of Aĺhierd Bacharevič. The creators transferred the performance, which premiered in Minsk as far back as 2020, to the London stage. In Belarus, it was perceived as a typical Belarusian experimental performance with its pros and cons, which didn`t go ahead of its time and fell short compared to the primary source. But in the UK, "Dogs of Europe" got positive attention from the
local press.
The
presentation of the play at the Paris Festival "Festival d'Automne à Paris" is planned for December. The Free Theater has no match in Belarus when it comes to management and promotion.
"Kupalaŭcy" faced two problems. Resource constraints in the system management: unfortunately, the troupe didn`t manage to exploit its image and positive vibe of the choice made in 2020 to the full extent. Moreover, they have no leading stage director with a prominent artistic program. This position remains vacant since Raman Padaliaka, who staged several plays last season, has left the group.
The latest collaboration experience with Mikalaj Pinihin ("Notes of a Red Army Soldier") and Pole Pawiel Passini ("Dziady") led to the production of rather one-dimensional plays with overly straightforward messages appealing to the educational experience of the Janka Kupala Theater as of the 2010s. Being loyal to the aesthetic standards of the past makes it hard for the "Kupalaŭcy" to integrate into the European theater network: the niche of political theater is already occupied by the Free Theater.
A fraction of artists from Hrodno chose another way: they united behind their leader, director Andrius Dariala, and formed a group named "August Theater". Three of their plays — the educational project "Why?" in memory of the executed poets, and such plays as "The Third Shift" and "The Cancelled Show" found their place in the Old Theater of Vilnius. The actors can use its stage for performances, appear on its posters, go on tours, and progress in general within the structure of a state repertory theater. Therefore, the Old Theater becomes partially responsible for management issues, which gives "August Theater" the opportunity for growth.
Team Theatre which relocated from Homieĺ to Warsaw found its niche and is going to proceed with immersive theater.