Belarus Free Theatre is perhaps the bravest theatre company in the world. Its members have been beaten and imprisoned, their performances stormed by police, and their reputations destroyed, all because of their determination to stand up against their country’s dictatorship and the vicious suppression of freedom of expression. Founder Natalia Koliada spoke to Garrett Bithell from Belarus.

We rarely get the chance to see political art truly in action. But this month, we are privileged to host Belarus Free Theatre for their premiere visit to Australia, where they will stage their vital and urgent play, Being Harold Pinter.

    Established in 2005, Belarus Free Theatre is an underground, and illegal, theatre project set up specifically to produce uncensored work in response to Europe’s last dictatorship. Since 1994, the authoritarian rule of President Alexander Lukashenko has suppressed both freedom of expression and political opposition. In Belarus, all theatres are state-owned, with all directors and artistic directors appointed by the Ministry of Culture. Theatre performances are censored, with no new work being produced. It’s a far cry from the culture of relative liberation our theatre practitioners enjoy.

    “Belarusian playwrights who have been produced by our theatre have been dismissed their universities,” founder and general director Natalia Koliada tells AXN from Belarus. “And they are the most talented young playwrights. But right after our production they lost their education. All of the actors lost their jobs, and our director – all of his performances that were to be produced around the country were cancelled. And my husband’s plays cannot be produced in state theatres in Belarus.”

    Since its inception, Belarus Free Theatre has performed in apartments and unadvertised venues. “It is very difficult for our audience because you need to find the phone number of our manager, who organises the audiences,” Koliada says. “Then you leave your name and phone number, we will find a facility to perform in, and you will get a call back with details of the meeting point. Only after you arrive at the meeting point will you be taken to the place where the performance will be. But unfortunately, some of the businessmen who allowed us to perform in their clubs have lost their licence because of our performances.”

    t sounds like a scene from 1984, but there are more nightmarish Orwellian twists to come. In August 2007, a performance by Belarus Free Theatre was stormed by state police and 50 people were arrested. “The audience, including young children, didn’t believe it was the police,” Koliada remembers. “The director and just presented the performance, wished the audience a pleasant stay, took his seat, and right after – maybe 20 seconds – police entered the room, but they were in civilian clothes. So the audience thought that it was the beginning of the performance. Nobody even moved. They continued to watch it!”

    In its relatively short history, the company has attracted the attention, and fierce support, of high-profile figures such as Czech president (and playwright) Václav Havel, playwrights Tom Stoppard, Harold Pinter and Arthur Kopit, and rock and roller Mick Jagger. These names not only bring a certain glamour to the company, but more crucially, they ensure a protection against the repressive actions of the Belarusian government.

    “We call them body guards,” Koliada says. “The Belarusian government is really scared of such high-level supporters. They are the reason we are not in jail. When we last got arrested, we sent Tom Stoppard a text message, and next morning the situation was published in the media all over the world. Now, if something happens to us, there is such a scream.”

    From all reports, Being Harold Pinter is world-class theatre built on the guts of raw experience. Splicing transcripts from Belarusian political prisoners with scenes from Pinter’s plays and extracts from his Nobel Prize speech, it promises to be both funny and menacing – a powerful instance of life imitating art.

    “We want Australian audiences to know about Belarus. People go to jail here, people get kidnapped and killed here. All the types of violence that happen in Pinter’s plays take place in Belarus. We want them to understand all these issues, but through the prism of very good theatre.”

Being Harold Pinter, Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney from January 6 – 11 and then January 28 – February 31; and Q Theatre Penrith, Sydney from January 14 – 17. For tickets check out sydneyfestival.org.au  It also plays Brisbane Powerhouse from January 21 – 24. For tickets check out brisbanepowerhouse.org