An On-Going Affair: The presence of Slovenian theatre at BITEF and their mutual influence

Katarina Pejović

From its very onset in 1967, the Belgrade International Theatre Festival – BITEF –established a manifold relationship with Slovenian theatre: as one of the main platforms for verifying the latter’s relevance in the international context, as a source of influence on certain Slovenian theatre makers and as a polygon through which the poetics and aesthetics of Slovenian theatre makers influenced other theatre milieus. The paper will examine the dynamics of this relationship with an emphasis on certain intensive phases and peak moments of the festival, especially those in the 1970s and 1980s. At the same time, this analytical journey will shed a particular light on nearly half a century of Slovenian theatre and its various tendencies during this period.

Katarina Pejović is dramaturg, intermedia artist, writer, pedagogue, cultural activist and translator. Her artistic works and projects have been produced and/or presented in over 20 countries. She has coordinated numerous conferences, platforms, festivals and initiatives. Her texts and essays have been published in books and publications in seven languages. From 2001–12 she co-authored with Boris Bakal all of the projects of the artistic platform Shadow Casters. Featured in 27 countries, these projects won several international awards including two BITEF Special Jury Awards. She is the recipient of the 2009 Desmond Tutu Fellowship Award.