Belliwood. We. Self-Identification

Belliwood. We. Self-Identification is a theatrical collaboration between the co-founding Artistic Directors of BFT and three Belarusian playwrights. Originally conceived as two independent stage productions they are regularly performed together as both reflect on the theme of Belarusian identity. Drawn directly from real-life experiences, Belliwood and We. Self-Identification are two of the earliest examples of the interrogatively rigorous, journalistic approach to theatre-making that characterises all of BFT’s stage productions.

Belliwood by Pavel Pryazhko is both a reconstruction and rejection of the pervasive myths of modern life. The tornado of mass media, shameless propaganda, brightly-coloured artifice is unleashed and its paths of destruction laid bare in a play that calls the demigods of the contemporary world firmly to account.

We. Self-Identification by Kostantin Steshik and Pavel Rassolko, was researched and written on the construction site of the National Library in Minsk, and its dialogue is made up almost entirely of jargon and expletives used by the workmen. The result is a fascinating study of the power of language to offer total immersion into a specific world by exploding the edifice of politeness.