We are celebrating our 10th anniversary in 2015 with Staging a Revolution, an epic festival featuring 10 landmark and taboo excavating productions being performed in underground locations across London and at the Young Vic as well as our huge solidarity concert: I'm With the Banned. This concert at Koko's on 18 October brought together banned bands from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine with artists living in political freedom to stand up for artistic freedom of expression. The line up included Boombox, David Gilmour, Kim Cattrall, DJ Laurel, DJ Andy Smith, Nadya Tolokonnikova from Pussy Riot, Iryna Khalip, Juliet Stevenson, Brutto, Jeremy Irons, Sam West, Kenwyn House, Neil Tennant from Pet Shop Boys, Viktoria Modesta and the Belarus Free Theatre. Ai Weiwei himself created and gifted us our festival logo.
In a Series from Ministry of Counterculture (http://moc.media) meet some of the members of our company.
We are banned in our own country, the last dictatorship in Europe. We perform underground in Minsk and tour the world. Our audiences in Minsk receive a text just hours before the show telling them to meet at a secret location. They bring their passports in case of KGB raids and arrest.
Be part of the bravest audience in world! Connect with us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/belarusfreetheatre/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BFreeTheatre
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Sign-up to our mailing list: http://moc.media/en/bft/signup/
Ministry of Counterculture: http://moc.media
About the Belarus Free Theatre:
Belarus Free Theatre (BFT) creates exciting social, cultural and political theatre which engages international audiences of all ages and encourages them to challenge and question the source of their freedom. BFT broach often neglected issues and call for both changes in perceptions and policy in order to improve the quality of life for the people who inspire their subject matter. They combine dance, music, film and stunning imagery to produce demanding, high impact theatre.
The company originally came together to put on expressive theatre in Belarus, illegal under the Lukashenko regime.
“What was important for people in Belarus was for them to know that we exist and nothing would stop us, artistically. So the main thing is that we should be free. And if we were free, we would perform.”
Now exiled from Belarus, the founders continue to produce their compelling blend of theatre and protest in the UK. Working from their base at the Young Vic in London, BFT perform internationally and encourage individuals from all over the world to celebrate their basic right to freedom of expression.