This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Jan. 24, 2011 - In the United States, we have the luxury of forgetting (or perhaps never learning) the role that theater plays in other parts of the world. Despite my abiding love of this unique art form, theater is not as significant in this country as it used to be. In many ways, its attraction as primary story teller and representation of culture has been supplanted by television, film and the internet. But it still matters. And sometimes, it matters so much, it can be downright threatening.
In the early years of my company -- That Uppity Theatre -- we grappled with issues of censorship, such as a printer refusing to print a flyer about Tim Miller's landmark piece "My Queer Body," that launched our AC/DC series. We received bomb threats for our pro-choice musical, "He's Having Her Baby." And two summers ago, following the murder of abortion-care provider, Dr. George Tiller as he worshiped in a church in Wichita, we sought police protection during the production of our new dance-theater piece, "Becoming Emily." The piece is about the life of Emily Lyons, an abortion nurse who was badly injured when domestic terrorist Eric Rudolph bombed the clinic in which she was working.
Pushing the envelope of what the public thinks theater should be, who should make it, and who should have the opportunity to see it are important questions that must engage a democratic public. But for the most part, the biggest challenge we face, along with many contemporary American companies, is funding, media coverage and real estate.
Scary at times? Yes. But I have never been imprisoned for my work. So the saga of the Belarus Free Theatre rocked my world. It is unfathomable to imagine the extent to which artists and activists are being denied the most basic rights of freedom of expression and assembly there, even after the dissolution of the former Soviet Republic.
Minsk-based Natalia Kaliada and her partner Nikolai Khalezin founded the Belarus Free Theatre in 2005 as an artistic response to a dictatorial regime. They have produced more than 10 critically acclaimed productions that have toured 20 countries on four continents. Along with director Vladimir Scherban and other company and family members, they have also been jailed repeatedly, beaten, harrassed or lost their jobs. In the few weeks since the disputed re-election of Aleksander G. Lukashenko as president of Belarus in December, more than 600 protesters have been arrested including four presidential candidates, journalists and artists.
Until the last moment, it was not certain if they would be able to bring their production of "Being Harold Pinter," a powerful pastiche from Harold Pinter's plays, his Nobel prize speech and the letters of Belarusian political prisoners to the Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival this year in New York City. Two of the company members had been jailed and the others went into hiding,
At a talk back recently, following their stunning performance of "Being Harold Pinter" that did take place at LaMaMa theater, Kaliada described having to send notices of performance locations by text messages in Minsk for fear of reprisal. Their shows often take place in tiny apartments, and they may move a play to six or seven different locations because frightened neighbors turn them in. They are also prohibited from charging to attend their performances in Belarus.
Belarus and Protests
Almost 10 million people live in Belarus, a country whose economy and media are almost completely under state control. Protests took place in December after the disputed re-election of Aleksander G. Lukashenko, who has been described as the last dictator in Europe.
PEN International is deeply concerned about the detention, maltreatment and pending prosecution of dozens of writers, journalists, artists and activists who have been jailed and tortured for exercising the right to freedom of speech and assembly. The European Union is considering reintroducing sanctions against Belarus.
Concerned citizens are urged to call for detainees to receive appropriate medical attention; an end to the persecution of the press and media outlets by Belarusian authorities; and the immediate release of all journalists, artists and human rights activists.
Thankfully, several organizations and public figures have taken up the mantle to protect free speech, champion the role of art in a civil society and the importance of the Belarus Free Theatre.
Last week, Tony Kushner and Tom Stoppard hosted a fundraiser for the Global Artistic Campaign in Solidarity with Free Belarus and the Index on Censorship, an initiative endorsed by playwrights Stoppard, Arthur Kopit and Vaclav Havel, as well as Sir Ian McKellen, Jude Law, Mick Jagger and others. The same night, Theatre J in Washington, D.C., produced a staged reading of "Being Harold Pinter" with local actors.
On Wednesday, the Public Theater, in partnership with Amnesty International USA, held a peaceful public demonstration, attended by approximately 400 people, at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Belarus to the United Nations, inviting theater artists in New York to join in solidarity with the persecuted Belarus artists and activists. That same day, a demonstration was held in Minsk and, unfortunately, 30 more protesters were arrested there, including the husband of one of the company's actresses.
The company has just received notification of a short reprieve of sorts. In what must be one of the most quickly organized and spirited examples of collaboration, the Goodman Theater, the League of Chicago Theaters and Northwestern University have come together to havethe Belarus Free Theatre perform "Being Harold Pinter" in Chicago Feb. 1-27 at a location to be announced.
As I write from the comfort of a warm apartment, my heart and head turn toward the brave artists of the Belarus Free Theater and to others who make bold work at such risk to themselves and their loved ones. All too unfortunately, this is not the only case of censorship in international theater. I remember when feminist Indonesian playwright Ratna Sarumpaet was jailed.
And I have questions. If we have an engaged press, why do so few of my colleagues and friends know the plight of this wonderful company or about the work they have done? How can we create work in this country that is so vital and urgent for our audiences? How far would I go to to protect my right to create art? As wonderful as it is that they have been granted a kind of artistic asylum in Chicago, what will be the fate of the Belarus Free Theatre, their colleagues and their families, when and if they are able to return home? And what can we do to help?
That Uppity Theatre Company
That Uppity Theatre Company, now in its 21st year, creates and presents work by or with marginalized populations who historically have been misrepresented on stage or in the wider public.
Following in the footsteps of political movements of the '60s and '70s - Latino/a migrant workers, the Second Wave of feminism, and gay and civil rights mobilization - our work says, look at me. It takes back an often objectifying gaze and redirects it at the audience, often through humor, in a theatrical invitation to look at the diversity of our world differently.
People with disabilities. African-American women with cancer. LGBT youth and adults. At risk youth. Alzheimer's patients. These are a few of the populations with whom we have worked.
Joan Lipkin is the Producing Artistic Director of That Uppity Theatre Company and the James F. Hornback Ethical Humanist of the Year.