Belarus Free Theatre's King Lear

‘Everything about the Belarus Free Theatre is astonishing…They are artists whose work reveals a high level of physical and verbal skill as audiences will have the chance to see.’

– Michael Billington (The Guardian) --

‘Belarus Free Theatre completely shook me out of myself. Beautiful. Life-affirming. Full of fight and hope.’

– Audience Member --

‘This is world-class theatre, built on the guts of raw experience.’

– Dominic Cavendish (The Telegraph) --

‘The bravest theatre in the world’

– Time Out --

 

This is a fundraising campaign to help Belarus theatre pay our cast and creative team in our forthcoming London productions.

Thanks to the unstinting and continued support of the companies we are working with here in the UK – Young Vic, the Globe, Fuel and the Old Vic Tunnels - we have been able to bring our company over from Belarus in order to perform the raw, bold and innovative work that has become our hallmark.

Those of you who already know our work will know the impact we have on the theatrical landscape. We are artistically unflinching. We make theatre that challenges and exhilarates but most of all demonstrates the power of ensemble; woven so tightly together we literally share blood, sweat and rivers of salt tears. Our chemistry as a company is what marks us apart from every other company in the world, and it is this that has gained us this international critical acclaim. We have performed in some of the most adverse conditions and have created beauty from bones. Our journey began with the censorship of independent theatre in Belarus. Our members lost their jobs in Belarus state theatres as a result of their affiliation with Belarus Free Theatre, which was set up to represent freedom of expression through our work, and uncensored theatre became effectively banned in Belarus. Performances take place in secret venues in Minsk with audiences alerted to their existence by text message or e-mail. Audiences bring their passports to performances in Belarus in fear of arrest. Every member of our company has, at one time, suffered forms of intimidation and harassment and some of us have been arrested and tortured as a result of our work. We will always perform; it isn’t what we do, it is simply who we are.

We are attempting to undertake a crucial transition as a company - we want to be sustainable and to be able to pay our creatives, so that we do not always have to rely on these wonderful external companies to support us. Our work is recognized by funding companies, such as the Arts Council’s tremendous support of Minsk, 2011 and King Lear, however, we are a company of 30 and it is simply not possible to pay everyone and accommodate all through outside bodies, not matter how generous. Nor would we want them too. We have two feet and we want to stand tall.

We are asking if you can contribute to this campaign, which will pay for the fees and accommodation for Belarus Free Theatre during the King Lear project. We need to raise 20,000 to pay for the fees of the cast and creatives during this project. By proving we can raise the funds to meet the demands of our budget we will become more dependable and viable to outside funders who will then be more likely to support us in the future. As you can see Lear really is a crucial project for us and it is imperative we demonstrate the ability, not only to perform professionally, but also to pay our company as professionals too, as their work deserves. £7,000 pays for the living costs of the company in England for one week.

We are so grateful for whatever you can contribute.

‘"In Belarus, just five hours flight from London, there is precious little freedom for anyone, particularly the theatre people and their audiences...The most eloquent and courageous opposition is not a political party nor a trade union: it is this theatre company." – Ian McKellan 

‘"Inestimable" – Tom Stoppard 

‘"My heart was on the floor" – Kevin Spacey 

‘"The theatre has become a symbol of what's happening to the country" – Jude Law