Minsk, 2011: A Reply to Kathy Acker

Devised by
Belarus Free Theatre
Adapted and directed by
Vladimir Shcherban
Co-Produced by
Natalia Kaliada and Nicolai Khalezin
Presented by
Fuel
Dates
22 Aug 2011 - 3 Nov 2012
Artist/Company
Belarus Free Theatre

By Belarus Free Theatre  

Devised by Belarus Free Theatre
Adapted and directed by Vladimir Shcherban
Co-Produced by Natalia Kaliada and Nicolai Khalezin 

Welcome to Minsk – the sexiest city in the world! 

Strip clubs, underground raves, and gay pride parades pulse beneath the surface of a city where sexuality is twisted by oppression. If scars are sexy, Minsk must be the sexiest city in the world. 

A love letter to a home that exiles those willing to fight for it, Minsk, 2011celebrates and mourns a land that has lost its way. 

Minsk, 2011: A Reply to Kathy Acker toured the UK from 2011 to 2012. 

Belarus Free Theatre was founded in 2005 in Europe’s last surviving dictatorship; the company is one of the most outspoken critics of Belarus’s repressive regime. Many company mem­bers have served time in prison, lost their jobs, gone into hiding, or been exiled. Despite this, the company continues to develop award-winning work with the sup­port of artists around the world. 

Fringe First winner 2011. 

Originally presented at the Pleasance. Developed in residence at the Dartington Space with the support of the Dartington Hall Trust. Funded by Arts Council England. 

Performed in Russian with English subtitles. 

#Minsk

"***** What makes it heart-rending is the knowledge that the events described are true."

The Telegraph

"**** At its most affecting when it simply lets us hear at the end from the brave actors themselves, sitting all in a row and facing either the disorientation of exile here or the threat of persecution if they return home."

Telegraph

"**** Its energetic messiness is part of its power: these people have something to say, and are saying it loudly and bluntly. Those who step towards the microphone are hurried away by thugs before they even do anything."

The Guardian 

"Inventive, entertaining and brave."

The Observer 

"A testimony to a now rare breed of provocative political theater, wherein art and reality are so uncomfortably close."

New York Times Artsbeat review 

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Project History