Битеф

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zapadna društva. Pitamo li se. kada smo iskreno i duboko potreseni fotografijom mrtvog tela malog izbeglice, kakva je odgovornost našeg društva za stradanja koja su to nesrecno dete i njegovu porodicu oterala od kuće? Činjenica da ova koncepcijska linija problematizuje odnose zapadnog s drugim društvima jedan je od razloga zašto su u Glavnom programu Bitefa zastupljene i predstave libanskih, kineskih, afričkih, singapurskih i indonežanskih umetnika. Drugi razlog jeste žeija da se, u godini velikog jubileja, Bitef vrati svom izvornom međunarodnom karakteru, prevazilazed evropski i regionaini okvir koji je dominirao poslednjih godina. Znatan doprinos ovom, zaista internacionalnom kontekstu pruža i dnjenica da će prestižna Talija, nagrada Medunarodne asocijacije pozorišnih kritičara (IATC), dji se 28. kongres dešava u okviru ovogodišnjeg Bitefa, biti svečano dodeljena Femiju Osofisanu iz Nigerije, jednom od vodedh afričkih dramskih pisaca, reditelja i teoretičara. Ovu programsku liniju dne dve nemačke predstave, Saosećanje. Istorija mitraijeza i Ambasador: nemačko-afrički komadsa pevanjem, austrijska Urnebesna tama, libanska Jašući oblak, hrvatska Nad grobom gtupe Europe i, u izvesnom smislu, singapurska Soft Machine. Njima treba dodati i ovogodišnju festivalsku produkciju, projekat Stoboda je najskuplja kapitalistička reč dramaturškinja Maje Pelević i Olge Dimitrijević, zasnovanu na njihovom istraživačkom putovanju u Pjöngjang, a dja je tema aktuelna projekcija negativnih stereotipa o Drugom,

neprijatelju ; konkretno, suočavanje domicilnih i zapadnjačkih propagandi povodom Severne Koreje. Ali nisu samo najšira kulturna raznovrsnost i snažna društvena i politička osvešćenost bile određujuće odlike Bitefa tokom njegove duge istorije. Koliko god to paradoksalno zvučalo, glavna tradicija Bitefa, ona koja se razvijala od samog njegovog početka, jeste traganje za „novim pozorišnim tendendjama“. Šezdesetih i sedamdesetih godina 20. veka, u doba nastanka Bitefa i njegovog najvećeg prodora, dosta iako je mogao da se razlikuje umetnički novum, ta definišuća odlika moderne, od tradicionalnih formi. Danas, u doba kada je i postmoderna već prohujali koncept, to je mnogo teže. Bitef, medutim, ne sme da ustukne pred takvim izazovima, već treba da stalno preispituje samu mogućnost mišljenja novuma u savremenom pozorištu i izvođačkim umetnostima. Takav, autorefleksivni pristup - već uveliko prisutan u vizuelnim umetnostima - zahteva i potporu teorijskog promišljanja u vidu pratedh konferencija i sličnih sadržaja, Ispitivanje „novih pozorišnih tendencija“ na jubilarnom 50, Bitefu uglavnom će se svoditi na dalje osvešćivanje činjenice da je u savremenoj umetnosti sve prisutnija hibridizacija formi, žanrova i stilova, pa danas ne govorimo toliko o pozorištu, koliko o izvođačkim umetnostima. Vaino nam je da se baš na 50. Bitefu napravi ova „školska rekapituladja gradiva“, podvuče crta i utvrdi jednom za svagda da su sve ove Izvođačke prakse teatar,

out that the productions in the Main Programme of the 50 th Bitef do not address these topics directly only: they research, problematize and shed light on their causes. Some productions, for instance, shift the emphasis from the refugee crisis itself to wars which brought it about and for which Western societies also bear a big responsibility. Do we, when we are sincerely and deeply moved by the photographs of the dead body of a small refugee, ask ourselves what responsibility our society bears for the sufferings which drove this unfortunate child and his family away from their home? The fact that this concept questions the relations between the Western and other societies is one of the reasons why the Bitef Main Programme features also productions of Lebanese, Chinese, African, Singaporean and Indonesian artists. Another reason is our desire to take Bitef in the year of its jubilee back to its original international character and overcome the European and regional framework which has predominated recently. An important contribution to this truly international context is made, by the fact that the prestigious Thalia Prize of the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) which will hold its 28th Congress during Bitef, will be awarded in special ceremony to Femi Osofisan, Nigeria, one of the leading African playwrights, directors and scholars. This conceptual thread is followed by two German productions, Compassion. The History of the Machine Gun and The Ambassador: A German-African

Singspiel, Austrian The Ridicolous Darkness, Lebanese Riding on a Cloud, Croatian On the Grave of Ignorant Europe and, up to a point, Soft Machine from Singapore. They should be added this year's festival production Freedom: the Most Expensive Capitalist Word by dramatists Maja Pelević and Olga Dimitrijević, based on their study visit in Pyongyang and addressing the topical projection of stereotypes about the Other, the enemy. and more specifically the juxtaposition of domicile and Western propaganda relating to North Korea. However, the broadest possible cultural diversity and powerful social and political awareness were not the determining feature of Bitef in its long history. Paradoxical as it may sound, the main Bitef tradition, the one that evolved from its very beginning, is the search for “new theatre tendencies". In the 1960 s and 19705, the time when Bitef emerged and made its major push forward, it was rather easy to distinguish the artistic newness, the determining feature of the modernism, from the traditional forms. Today. at a time when even the post-modern is a passe concept, it is much more difficult, Bitef, nonetheless, may not give way before such challenges; it needs to re-examine over and over again the very possibility of thinking the newness in modern theatre and performing arts in general. This self-reflexive approach - already very much present in visual arts - requires the support of theoretical thinking in the form of accompanying conferences and the like. The exploration of “new theatre tendencies” at the