Christopher Balme, Tony Fisher, Meike Wagner or Matthias Warstat are among speakers of the FU “Redefining Theatre: Theatre and Society in Transition“ online conference held on May 28–29, 2021. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has yet again shown us the strength of theatre’s interrelation with the society and just how easily theatre’s social relevance can shift at the time of a profound social change.In what ways can we reflect on theatre in both institutional and aesthetic terms in times of societal transition? What happens to theatre when the public spheres are being fundamentally reshaped? And what means do we possess to articulate the re-definition of theatre’s social function and relevance?

The “Redefining Theatre: Theatre and Society in Transition“ interactive online conference will focus on theatre in times of societal transition both in general terms and with a specific focus on the post-1989 transformations in Central and Eastern Europe. 

Speakers

Christopher Balme, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany

Tanja Bogusz, Kassel University, Germany

Tony Fisher, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, UK

Radka Kunderová, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Anneli Saro, University of Tartu, Estonia

Paweł Sztarbowski, Theatre Academy in Warsaw and Teatr Powszechny in Warsaw, Poland

Andrea Tompa, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Meike Wagner, Stockholm University, Sweden

Matthias Warstat, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Jana Wild, Academy of Performing Arts Bratislava, Slovakia

Brandon Woolf, New York University, USA

Chairs

Tony Fisher, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, UK

Radka Kunderová, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Jan Lazardzig, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Janelle Reinelt, University of Warwick, UK

The programme will most likely be published in mid-April. Registration for attendees is free of charge and will open in April. For more info on the conference, check www.theatre-redefined.org, and ”Theatre ReDefined” Facebook and Instagram profiles.

The conference is a part of the project “Redefining the Agency: Post-1989 Crisis of the Czech and Former East German Theatre” (abbreviated as ”Theatre ReDefined”) conducted by the Principal Investigator Dr. Radka Kunderová at the Institute for Theatre Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin.

The project received approval and support within the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship Programme.