Harvard University hosts the first U.S. performances by theatre company from the Republic of Belarus

[James Mallinson]

Tickets are on sale now for the first United States performances by a
theatre company from the Republic of Belarus. The Ukrainian Research
Institute and The Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures at Harvard
University have been awarded a $25,000 grant to host the National Academic
Dramatic Yakub Kolas Theatre of Vitsyebsk (Vitebsk), Belarus. The
performances are October 13, 14, and 15, 2005 at the The Charles Mosesian
Theater, in the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA. Tickets are
available from the Harvard Box Office, 617-496-2222.

The National Academic Dramatic Yakub Kolas Theatre is the premiere touring
company from Belarus, having been awarded the Scotsman¹s ³Fringe First²
Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. The company has
performed in numerous venues throughout Europe, including the East Goes West
Festival in London, Mittelfest in Cividale del Friule, Italy, and at the
Espace Pierre Cardin in Paris on the personal invitation of Mr. Pierre
Cardin.

The project of bringing the Yakub Kolas Theatre to the United States was
undertaken by James Mallinson in 2003, as his internship to complete his
Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Management at the School of Theatre at
Florida State University. He spent nearly eight months in Vitsyebsk
acquainting himself with the people, culture, and history of Belarus¹
³cultural capital.²

Shortly after beginning his internship, Mallinson made contact with Dr. Curt
Woolhiser, president of the North American Association of Belarusian Studies
and a preceptor in Slavic Languages and Literatures at Harvard University.
Dr. Woolhiser is one of America¹s foremost authorities on Belarusian
language.

Dr. Woolhiser was intrigued by the prospect of presenting the Yakub Kolas
Theatre with a symposium on Belarusian arts and national identity. He
presented the idea to Tymish Holowinsky, Executive Director of the Ukrainian
Research Institute. The three men worked together to present the idea to the
Trust for Mutual Understanding of New York, which awarded a $25,000 grant.
Political relations between the United States and Belarus are as tense as
before the break-up of the Soviet Union. This performance represents an
opportunity for the American public to acquaint itself with the distinct
arts and culture of the Belarusian people, which, under tsarist and
communist rule, became overshadowed by the language and culture of
neighboring Russia. The performances will be presented in Belarusian with
English supertitles.

³After first seeing the company¹s performances in Scotland, I was intrigued
that Belarusian theatre had been almost completely ignored by the theatre
professionals in the United States,² said Mallinson, ³Russia, Ukraine,
Poland, and the Baltic States have all had significant artistic contact
here, but Belarus is virtually unknown. I want to create a positive point of
contact between our countries to contrast the current political tension.
Belarusians deserve to be recognized for their independent identity.²

The two productions, set to be presented back-to-back at each of the
performances, are ³Chagall... Chagall...² by Uladzimir Drazdou, and ³The
Arrest² by Sakrat Janovich, both directed by Artistic Director Vital
Barkouski. ³Chagall... Chagall...² is the Yakub Kolas Theatre¹s
international award-winning look at the early life of world-renowned artist
Marc Chagall. At the moment of Chagall¹s death, in an elevator, halfway
between heaven and earth, the faces and scenes of his beloved Vitsyebsk come
back to speak to him. The production is a blend of Eastern European avant
garde finely blended with a passion for the tradition and flavors of the
Belarusian Jewish community that existed in Vitsyebsk before the second
World War.

³Chagall... Chagall...² has been performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
(where it was awarded the ³Fringe First² award by The Scotsman); the
East-Goes-West Festival in London; Mittelfest in Cividale del Friule, Italy;
at the Espace Pierre Cardin in Paris; and at numerous other events and
festivals throughout the former Soviet bloc. On her nomination of the
production for the ³Fringe First,² Joyce McMillan of The Scotsman calls it,
³a staggeringly beautiful show...² and ³simply perfect, with a quality of
acting that takes the breath away, and a courtly simplicity that recalls so
many lost worlds of piety and reverence. What was that about the ceremony of
innocence being drowned? Not here; and not for the magical
hour-and-a-quarter that this show lasts.²

³The Arrest² by leading Belarusian poet Sakrat Janovich, is the story of
Belarusian philologist and political leader Branislau Tarashkievich. As a
member of the Polish Parliament, he became a fierce advocate of the rights
of Belarusian Poles. At the time, the area now known as Belarus was split
between Poland and the Soviet Union. Tarashkievich¹s outspoken advocacy for
Belarusian cultural and political self-determination was viewed as a threat
by both sides. Twice arrested by the Polish authorities, he was later traded
to the Soviet Union. The Soviet government barred him from settling in
Belarus, forcing him to stay in Moscow, where he was arrested in 1937 on
groundless charges and executed a year later.

³The Arrest² takes the same signature minimalism of ³Chagall... Chagall...²
and twists it to create a dark dreamscape. The production drifts from one
torment and indignity to another as Tarashkievich suffers ridicule and
suspicion for his struggle for Belarusian independence. The story of
Tarashkievich is the story of the Belarusian people, that still proves true
in the quandary of modern Belarus. In the rivalry between Poland and the
Soviet Union, the Belarusians were literally and figuratively caught in the
middle, and any word for Belarus was seen by one of the two powers as a blow
for the other.

The Ukrainian Research Institute and Department of Slavic Languages &
Literatures at Harvard University will host performances by the National
Academic Dramatic Yakub Kolas Theatre on October 13 and 14, 2005 at 8:00 PM,
and October 15, 2005 at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM at the Arsenal Center for the
Arts in Watertown, MA. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for students and
seniors, and $10 for students, faculty and staff of Harvard University.
Tickets are available from the Harvard Box Office, 617-496-2222. Further
sponsorship opportunities for this event are still available.

For more information on this event, contact James Mallinson at
james at mallinsonarts.org or 773-501-5938. Further information about the
Ukrainian Research Institute can be found online at www.huri.harvard.edu,
and further information about the National Academic Dramatic Yakub Kolas
Theatre is available at www.theatre.vitebsk.by.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------