Literature and theatre are an important part of the cultural dialogues in Southeastern Europe. The environment for theatre, especially for independent theatre has been difficult long before the Covid-19 crisis. It is especially important in these time to offer alternative ways for playwrights to present their plays to the dramaturges and to the audience.
Main idea
How do social upheavals, migration and refugee flows, pandemics such as Covid-19, regressions on the way to European integration, regional conflicts and the ubiquity of populist, nationalist regimes influence contemporary theater? How does theater try to counteract negative trends and to contribute to the sustainable development of a (European-oriented) civil society?
It often seems that stage plays react faster, more directly and more specifically than other literary genres to distortions of all kinds, which consequently raises questions about current material and themes. How is the plot constructed? How are characters and patterns developed? Which dramatic escalations should the audience see? What formal means of expression does contemporary theater use? What changes in media (use of video, film, social networks) is it experiencing? What about interdisciplinary approaches, the relationship to performance and the visual arts? Does theater see itself as an educational or awareness-raising institution?
Participating countries
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece (Athens / Thessaloniki), Croatia, Romania / Moldova, Serbia, Cyprus
