Ne:BITEF: Serbia’s theatre community stands together
On 20 September, Serbia’s theatre community came together to mark 60 years of the Belgrade International Theatre Festival (Bitef) with ne:Bitef, a ‘guerrilla-style’ event spanning the city.
A Collection of (Probably) Unread Plays
Young playwrights in Serbia face a struggle not only to get their work staged, but to get their work read. Miomir Milosavac reports on the publication of a new zine spotlighting Serbia’s under-performed writers.
Second ne:BITEF event is announced
The second edition of ne:BITEF, the guerrilla theatre festival, will be held on 20 September across 60 locations throughout Belgrade.
Andreja Kargačin: “We must demand that institutions work for us”
Director Andreja Kargačin’s Dora or Who Will Stitch the Vests? tells the story of a Serbian student activist living in exile. She talks to Divna Stojanov about the reality behind the show and navigating risk and repression as an artist.
Ljubiša Ristić appointed as director of Atelje 212
Ljubiša Ristić has been appointed as the new acting director of Belgrade theatre Atelje 212 Belgrade’s Atelje 212 theatre has a new acting director. Ljubiša Ristić was appointed by Belgrade City Assembly, replacing the former manager, dramaturg Gordana Goncić. Ristić (79 years old) has for decades been regarded as one of the region’s best-known avant-garde…
The international community resists the state capture of BITEF
As international artists continue to withdraw from the programme of the 59th BITEF, Borisav Matić reflects on the evolving situation and what it means for the festival’s future.
71st Sterijino pozorje: a critical dialogue
What did this year’s Sterijino Pozorje reveal about the state of contemporary theatre rooted in domestic dramatic writing? Critics Andrej Čanji and Divna Stojanov discuss the productions, trends, and tensions that shaped the festival’s 71st edition.
Serbian theatre: Between resistance and appeasement
Serbia is in the midst of Europe’s largest student movement since 1968, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at the work produced on its institutional stages.
My Sad Monsters
Ivan Vanja Alač directs Croatian playwright Mate Matišić’s metatheatrical follow-up to Man of Wax at National Theatre of Sombor.
Black Gold
Oliver Frljić. returns to Belgrade to direct a new play by Dejan Dukovski about political, societal and familial transitions.