What is SEEstage?
SEEstage is a platform for independent theatre criticism and arts journalism in South East Europe. It publishes reviews, analysis, interviews, essays and other forms of critical texts written by writers from the region as well as those with a passion for the work being made in South East Europe. It is intended as a space for dialogue and connection between countries, cultures, critics and artists.
Why is SEEstage?
South East Europe has a vibrant and lively theatre scene. The work produced by theatres in Zagreb, Prishtina, Belgrade or Sarajevo can often feel like the antithesis of tired western European theatre. The work is often characterized by liveliness, radicalism and a fresh approach to the topics and issues it addresses.
But it’s also worth noting that this theatre scene has historically been, and continues to be, isolated, immersed in financial and administrative problems and stifled by fragmentation.
Due to complex political issues in the region, artists from Kosovo can travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina only if they obtain a visa at the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Skopje, while artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina can travel to Kosovo only if they obtain a visa to Kosovo in Zagreb or in Tirana.
Public theatres in Serbia regularly refuse to present their performances in Kosovo. Albania does not have an independent theatre scene to speak of and Montenegro and Macedonia are no better. In almost 30 years, no performance from Kosovo has been shown in the theatres of Montenegro, a country with which it shares a border. The region has not yet managed to free itself completely from the clutches of the politics of the 90s.
The mobility of performances within the countries of South East Europe is often limited. Work from these countries is seldom presented outside the region, in part because of a lack of knowledge and information about the theatre being created in this part of the word.
SEEstage hopes to address this lack, to join the dots between the theatre scenes of Kosovo, Serbia, Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and the wider region, to problematize and analyse the important issues faced by theatre artists in these countries, to give visibility and recognition to performances that deserve wider attention.
SEEstage is also a place for emerging and independent critical voices. It recognizes that a healthy critical culture is essential to the wider culture. .
Contact SEEstage: [email protected]
