In Berlin, a banned theater put on an extremist performance
The Belarusian Free Theater came to Berlin with a great production on one of the best stages in the city. In the late 2000s, to get to the performances of this theater in Minsk, you had to call secret phone numbers and wander around the sleeping areas – you had to play literally in the apartments of friends. Then the founders of the theater Nikolai Khalezin and Natalya Kalyada, who emigrated to London and were threatened with arrest if they returned to Minsk, began working with actors and staging performances via Skype – and this was long before the coronavirus remote work.
In recent years, practically all theater actors left Belarus, where the screws were fully tightened, and the directorial duo had the opportunity to create large productions in London without haste and without fear of arrest. For example, “Dogs of Europe” based on the novel by Olgerd Bakharevich, which became, perhaps, the largest and loudest production in the history of the Belarusian theater. “Dogs” and taken to Berlin, the performance was held at the German Theater in front of the Ukrainian Embassy on March 10th and 11th. The actors performed in the Belarusian language, accompanied by English and German subtitles.
Belarusian “Ulysses”
Self-confident, radical, arrogant and prophetic Bakharevich’s 900-page novel – some called him the “Belarusian” Ulysses “- seemed to be written for this small arrogant theater, which “left grandfather and grandmother”, became famous in general world (in one of their productions, Jude Law played) and was looking for material for a high-profile London premiere.
Bakharevich described the world of 2049, in which the orthodox fundamentalist Russian Empire, which has swallowed not only Belarus, but also China, is opposed to the heir of the European Union, which, however, is also the least like paradise . Between the blocks was built a wall three times higher than the Berlin wall, which is surpassed only by spies and restless souls in search of the truth. On one side of the wall is a repressive military dictatorship (and the word “Belarus” itself has disappeared even from the maps), on the other – the literally soulless West, where there are two bookstores for the whole country, and even those are really ruined. Despite criticism from the West, this novel was recognized as extremist in Belarus in May 2022 – excellent material for a banned underground theater.
Spiritless West in “Dogs of Europe”
Belarusian theater showed these two worlds loudly, in detail and with passion. The first hour and a half – the Belarusian village world of the future, the tranquility of which is disturbed by aliens – a mysterious spy and a well-dressed Russian officer. Then there is an intermission, during which everyone rests, the audience lines up at the buffet, and the unfortunate actor Pavel Gorodnitsky (he is also a talented musician in the Broken Heart Kid group), at the director’s incomprehensible whim, walks around the stage naked. How this plays into the performance’s dramaturgy is still unclear, it seems that Pavel lost a bet or was too late for rehearsals.
Then the second part – the same Pavel plays a Berlin detective investigating in Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, Prague and Minsk the fate of a Slavic emigrant – the last poet in a world where there is no more poetry. It is noticeable that Bakharevich (who has lived in Germany for over six years) knows the West well and is concerned with the trends he perceives in it – from a certain superficiality of its inhabitants to Putinerism.
Drive and Caution
First of all, about the good – the performance was a success. The world of the future is turning into a complete picture – albeit a rather wild one. This is facilitated by well-chosen music with live instruments (the Berlin composer Sergei Nevsky also worked on the performance), which smooths out the inconsistencies of the scenery and generally gives a real impetus to what is happening. The spectacle also acts as a wake-up call of sorts – the book was published in 2017, the performance was prepared before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but one doesn’t have to strain to realize that the world is clearly moving in the direction Bakharevich described.
From historical parallels to today’s press releases, shivers run across the skin from time to time. In addition, young Belarusian actors who left the regime are simply pleasant to look at: no matter how wildly they play, they feel authentic and new.
Between the underground and the Berlin scene
On the other hand, it cannot be said that the transition from the underground to the main stages of European capitals was given to the theater completely painlessly – the advantages of the theater hide its shortcomings. Carelessness in working with actors (no German acting school psychologism here) and hastily sketched superficial characters would look adequate in the underground, but in competition with the best masters in the world (and you will inevitably have to compete with them if you play in the German Theater stage) expect more subtlety.
The strokes here are so wide that everything that happens seems to be a rough version or a sketch of a really large-scale future performance, which we will have to work on for a few more years. The wind of history and the talent of the creators brought the Free Theater of Belarus to the main stages, but in the background it remained a small underground theater – this is noticeable, but who said that this is a problem? It’s possible, however, that what may seem careless to the viewer is actually a conscious decision to maintain that vibe.
See dystopia dystopia
And it’s certainly not the authors’ fault that the audience is watching this dystopia already in a dystopia – which turns out to be bloodier and more unbearable than what we see on stage. If before February 24 about Belarus as part of the Russian Empire it was possible to be ironic (many satirical episodes are devoted to the confrontation between Russians and Belarusians), then after the Russian invasion of Ukraine (including the Belarusian territory) we see what it is serious consequences that things can have, which Bakharevich and Khalezin warn us about.
“I lived in Belarus for a long time – 12 years. And I would not want this dystopia in which we find ourselves to continue until 2049. For example, the violation of Belarusian identity and culture. Belarusians only recently, literally in front of my eyes, began to reveal his identity. And it is very sad that now this is being destroyed and the Russian cultural occupation is becoming a real occupation,” economist Daniel Krutzinna told DW after the presentation.
“Dogs of Europe” could not stop the war, but clearly demonstrate what consequences it can lead to and why Belarus should not be forgotten – in 2049 it simply may not remain on the maps.
Source: DW
Anna White is a journalist at 247 News Reel, where she writes on world news and current events. She is known for her insightful analysis and compelling storytelling. Anna’s articles have been widely read and shared, earning her a reputation as a talented and respected journalist. She delivers in-depth and accurate understanding of the world’s most pressing issues.