Fight for Artistic Freedom Against Government Repression Takes Seattle Stage
The Belarus Free Theatre’s "Burning Doors" is a portal to a world where art is a crime.
By Jim Demetre September 19, 2017
This article originally appeared in the September 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.
With citizens growing concerned about the protection of basic civil liberties like free speech, for some artists, the criteria for what remains relevant in art has become political, and their resulting work, intensely provocative. Case in point: A recent New York City–based Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar, intended to draw parallels between the fall of the Roman Republic and the rule of our current president (and featured the title role in Trump-like dress), resulted in enraged protesters storming the stage to prevent the dictator’s inevitable assassination. Fearful corporate sponsors responded by pulling their support.
Seattle audiences can witness what happens when the liberties we sometimes take for granted are lost when the underground Minsk-based Belarus Free Theatre, founded in 2005, brings Burning Doors to On the Boards this fall. It’s an opportunity to view a harrowing and intense statement about brutal state crackdowns on artistic expression.
The avant-garde theater piece is based upon the real-life experiences of three artists who have felt the strong arm of repressive regimes: iconoclastic Russian performance artist Petr Pavlensky, incarcerated Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and—in her stage debut—previously imprisoned Maria Alyokhina of Russian feminist punk rock band Pussy Riot. Scenes of torture and interrogation, isolation and resulting madness all carry the weight of personal as well as cultural history.
Since its inception in 1978, On the Boards has brought challenging work from around the world to Seattle audiences. As the current season was under development, newly appointed executive director Betsey Brock says five members of Belarus Free Theatre were arrested in Minsk. “Their lead actor was jailed, one member was hospitalized with a concussion. But they made modifications and still did all their performances that weekend. They said, ‘It is necessary for us to show we are stronger than a dictator.’”
Brock emphasizes the importance of bringing this show to Seattle right now. “We desperately need art as a protective force against authoritarianism,” she says. “In a time where the value of public support for art is being harshly questioned by our government, it feels right to present a show like Burning Doors.”
Burning Doors, September 28–October 1. Times and prices vary. On the Boards, 100 W Roy St.; 206.217.9886.
Follow Us
Seattle’s Big Holiday Arts Guide
A full lineup of seasonal performances across local theaters and venues.
In the words of William Shakespeare, “All’s well that ends well.” Local theater and arts organizations are hoping for exactly that. Holiday productions often account for as much as half of their annual ticket sales. A 2018 Dance/USA survey found that The Nutcracker alone represented 48% of yearly revenue for many companies producing the Tchaikovsky…
Outside The Frame
In their first solo museum exhibition in Seattle, artist Camille Trautman uses photography to reclaim history, narrative, and self-expression.
You have probably seen Camille Trautman’s work without even realizing it. A huge photograph—20 feet wide—is currently hanging across the exterior of the Frye Art Museum, visible to passersby driving along Boren Avenue. The image is of a wooded landscape in black and white. Its edges are vacuous, with trees swallowed by darkness, but the…
Holiday Hunt in Pioneer Square
A daily ornament drop turns December into a neighborhood-wide scavenger hunt.
The holidays tend to bring out the kid in all of us. And if opening presents and eating too many treats weren’t enough, there’s also a scavenger hunt in Seattle’s oldest neighborhood. Pioneer Square’s Holiday Ornament Scavenger Hunt has returned for its third year. Twenty-five handblown glass ornaments—all made at Glasshouse Studio—are hidden across 25…
Chit-Chat Kids
Phone a friend.
Twenty years ago, before everyone walked around with a device in their pocket, kids used to call each other on a landline—often tethered to the kitchen in their home. It was a simpler time, when parents didn’t have to worry (nearly as much) about a potential predator contacting their child. Nowadays, things are different, which…