site.btaBelgrade National Theatre Actors Protest Proposed Ban on Political Expression Onstage
Actors from the National Theatre in Belgrade staged a protest in the central square of the Serbian capital on Friday night to announce their refusal to accept changes to the institution's rules, which would prohibit them from expressing political views on stage.
One of the actors said: "If, for example, we went on stage after a performance with blood on our hands or if we held up a banner with a slogan against the government and the president, we would be punished." The image of hands covered in blood is one of the symbols of the anti-government protests that have been going on since a concrete canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad collapsed on November 1, 2024, which led to 16 fatalities.
On numerous occasions during the protests, actors and entire theatre troupes showed their solidarity by cancelling performances or joining the demonstrations led by students. On Friday night, the actors put up banners at the National Theatre calling for the deposing of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
The protesters also demanded the dismissal of the head of the Theatre's Management Board, Dragoslav Bokan, and announced that their action tonight is a warning strike. Meanwhile, Bokan decided that the National Theatre will be closed for the next three weeks in order to implement measures to address identified irregularities and deficiencies in the building's fire safety system.
One actor commented that these irregularities were old and had already been reported on multiple occasions, which raises the question why the theatre management waited for the summer to be over, before they decided to act upon them. According to the actor, the reasonable move would have been to address the problems during the summer, when no plays are staged anyway.
Students from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts joined the protest.
/NZ/
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