Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 18 September (BelTA) – The International Theater Forum TEART stimulates the development of theater art in Belarus, believe the professionals involved in the work of the forum, BelTA has learned.

“TEART gives the opportunity to promote theater art not only in Minsk but also throughout the country. The Belarusian theatrical scene, both in Minsk and the entire Belarus, is very diverse. Development of theatrical art is about the opportunity to show talents through TEART and a chance to get through to the audience,” said Alexander Shestakov, the deputy head of the culture department at the Minsk City Hall.

Chairman of the Board of Belgazprombank Viktor Babariko called to take action to make sure the Belarusian theater evolves, grows more recognizable not only in the professional community but also the outside world. “The festival has been an open event from the outset h and has welcomed teams from many different countries. But we need a feedback from the audience. We want their views on the ways the forum should develop, on the necessary changes to make it important for the Belarusian theater,” he said.

Director of TEART Anzhelika Krashevskaya shared her vision of the problems facing the modern Belarusian theater: “We have well-respected names. Many are quite popular, but unfortunately they are popular outside Belarus. This thing remains incomprehensible to us: why are we wary of our own writers whose works have been translated into many languages and become popular outside Belarus?”

Belarus’ largest theatrical TEART consists of three sections: international program, Belarus Open and TEART’s School educational platform. Among the participating countries this year are Russia, Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, Poland, Belgium, France, Finland, Vietnam, the Republic of Korea. The international program features nine major theatrical productions. Ten best Belarusian performances will be shown in Belarus Open.

The festival will begin with the Belarus Open program which will be held from 20 to 24 September.

The eighth edition of the International Theater Forum TEART will be held from 20 September to 16 October under the slogan Decompression. Among the organizers are the ART Corporation visual and performing arts center, Belgazprombank, Gazprom Transgaz Belarus. The forum is held in cooperation with the Culture Ministry of Belarus and the Minsk City Hall.