00:00:00 – 00:00:46
music intro over GVs of Minsk
and the Belarus Free Theatre,
ending on title animation
Staging A Revolution at
00:00:43 (B6/B8/B4/B5/A3)
00:00:47
Aston: Minsk, Belarus
00:00:49
External GVs of theatre (B5)
00:00:53
GVs of performance (Being
Harold Pinter)
00:01:04
(A12a, 00:00:29)
00:01:09
GFX slate: Natasha Kolya
00:01:14
00:01:17 Upsof
00:01:12
Generation Jeans GVs (B3/A5)
00:01:26
Audience cutaways (B6/B3)
00:01:46
(A5, 00:02:17)
VOICEOVER: This rundown house
is not exactly showbiz, but
welcome to the world of the
Belarus Free Theatre.
NATASHA SOT: We’re husband and
wife. It’s just obvious that we
sit here….
…We do theatre.
UPSOF: Warning, this tape must
not be played by government
personnel. It can be extremely
harmful and result in severe
trauma.
VOICEOVER: The Free Theatre’s
performances are staged
randomly. They’re held in
secret, and at short notice –
in a game of cat and mouse with
the KGB. Officially the
theatre’s banned because it
refuses to abide by strict
censorship laws. Their plays,
like this one, Generation
Jeans, are often critical of
the authorities.
NATASHA SOT: The story starts
in the Soviet Union when jeans
and rock music were totally
prohibited. If you sell or buy
00:01:58
Extract from Generation Jeans
(in Russian, subtitled)
(B3, 00:26:15)
00:01:19
GVs Generation Jeans
00:02:31
Extract Generation Jeans
(Russian, subtitled in
English)
00:02:40
00:03:14
jeans, you could go to jail for
it.
KOLYA UPSOF:
We wanted to know everything
about Mick Jagger and nothing
about the Communist Party.
Because we understood that it
was this damn Communist Party
that wouldn’t let Mick come
here and sing Satisfaction.
American and British flags
became symbols of freedom for
us.
VOICEOVER: Audiences in Minsk
are small, but the theatre’s
become known in drama circles
all over the world.
They’re a rare voice of dissent
in a country that’s become
infamous as Europe’s last
dictatorship.
KOLYA UPSOF: Where did you get
those jeans from? My friend
bought them. What friend?
What’s his name and address?
VOICEOVER: Belarus is nominally
a democracy, but freedom of
expression is not exactly
encouraged. The opposition has
no access to the media, which
is nearly all state controlled.
The Free Theatre’s plays urge
the audience to question the
world around them. And in
Belarus, this work carries
risk. Both Kolya and Natasha
have been arrested in the past.
In 2002 Kolya was imprisoned
for leading a demonstration
against the regime.
Generation Jeans is his story.
KOLYA SOT: Now I can see myself
(Russian, subtitled)
(A4b, 00:57:30)
(A8, 00:08:37)
00:03:58
Extract Generation Jeans
(Russian, subtitled in
English)
00:04:12
00:04:24
(In Russian, subtitled)
(A8x)
00:04:32
Generation Jeans extract
(B3)
(In Russian, subtitled in
English)
00:04:39
(A5)
00:04:18
music
Minsk GVs
in prison. But back then I
could not. I thought of it as a
difficult situation, but I did
not imagine it as something you
cannot even begin to fit into
your consciousness….
… for some people, especially
Europeans, this story makes
their hair stand on end. But
for Belarusians this story is
just unpleasant. Because these
stories happen all the time.
People are beaten up and
arrested.
KOLYA UPSOF: When the jeans
shirt rose above the crowd, it
stopped being a shirt. It
became a flag. The flag of the
Jeans Generation.
FEMALE VOXPOP: The work that
they do is really unique. It’s
really fantastic. They are
taking up the issues that
really are taboo.
MALE VOXPOP: I have never seen
anything like this before. The
state theatres cannot show
things like this.
KOLYA UPSOF: I am free. On a
count of three. 1,2,3… I am
free.
NATASHA SOT: If we have a
revolution in Belarus one day,
so it will be jeans revolution.
00:04:52
CAPTION: I’m going with
you to the border
00:04:57
CAPTION: For Belarus and
for the people!
00:04:59
(A12a)
(Russian, subtitled in
English)
00:04:55
Minsk GVs
00:05:15
CAPTION: Let Belarus
bloom!
00:05:21
(A12a)
00:05:49
music: Leningrad, “Ya
Svaboden”
Driving GVs
Yaro in car
00:06:17
GFX slate: YARO
00:06:25
(A8)
00:06:37
(A8)
KOLYA SOT: It has always been
difficult and it cannot be
otherwise. The authorities do
not like those who do things
that are not controlled. This
is what dictatorship rests on.
NATASHA SOT: We do not keep
anything at our computers. We
need to find places to hide
these computers. And it makes
life not difficult, but, you
are alert all the time. And
that’s why it’s hard
emotionally.
YARO UPSOF: I sleep here
sometimes but it’s not
comfortable. I just put this
here like this.
YARO SOT: I have an apartment
but people rent it so I get
money.
00:06:46
Yaro in theatre GVs
(A2a)
00:06:50
00:06:57
cutaway Being Harold
Pinter rehearsal
00:07:07
(A8)
00:07:16
Extract from A Flower for
Pina Bausch
(B6)
(Russian, subtitled in
English)
00:07:28
(A8)
00:07:36
cutaway of Yaro with
Natasha, then with Kolya
(A10, A5)
00:07:48
Rehearsal shot in kitchen
(A2c)
01:07:57
(A8)
cutaway of actors smoking
outside
00:08:12
cutaway of Yaro in Being
YARO SOT: I do technical things
like sound, lights, video
projection, props. Also, some
organisation.
YARO SOT: I like acting but I
don’t want to be an actress.
YARO UPSOF: I am so fed up with
you! Why do you gorge like a
pig? You have spent your whole
life writing something, but you
know nobody will ever read that
shit!
YARO SOT: Kolya and Natasha are
my second parents. I love them.
Really….
… And I can speak with them
about everything, without
problems. They are very good
people.
UPSOF: (singing)
YARO SOT: Members of the FT are
like family for me…
…I had problems at university.
I was expelled two times.
Because the Belarus Free
Theatre is not allowed to
exist. And so to work here, is
not a good deal…
Harold Pinter
00:08:23
cutaway of Yaro preparing
props
00:08:34
music: Leningrad “Ya
Svaboden”
00:08:36
Yaro preparing plastic
bags
00:08:41
Svijeta leaves theatre and
GFX slate
01:08:21
Svijeta walk
00:09:01
Svijeta waiting at bus
station
(SOT A8/Russian,
subtitled)
00:09:18
Sequence of audience
entering theatre
00:09:33
Svijeta talks over
sequence of audience and
email list, ends on her
…I would like to leave. Belarus
is a country in which you
understdand that you have no
opportunity to develop. So it’s
better to leave.
SVIJETA SOT: There is one
specific place where the
audience has to be before the
performance. I go to this place
and take them to the theatre.
VOICEOVER: Audiences are
alerted to performances by
email or text message.
The theatre’s been raided by
the KGB in the past, and
they’re often under
surveillance.
Officers try to warn off and
intimidate the audience.
SVIJETA SOT: The time has
passed when I was afraid. In
the first year I worked here,
there was some fear. But now
closing theatre door
(Russian, subtitled in
English)
00:09:54
Being Harold Pinter GV
00:10:08
(A4b/Russian, subtitled)
00.10.37
cutaway Being Harold
Pinter
00:11:12
cutaway of Yaro preparing
radio (Russian, subtitled)
00:11:134
music
GFX slate: Vladimir
01:11:44
this is a practiced routine.
VLADIMIR SOT: I worked for
eight years at the Belarus
National Theatre and there was
absolutely no modern drama at
that time. When I first read
British drama like Mark
Ravenhill or Sarah Kane, I saw
that these works really suited
our mood and our way of
thinking…
These works did not have any
direct connection to the
political situation in Belarus,
but the drama must have had the
power to challenge taboos. It
wasn’t allowed. In our country,
in the end, everything becomes
political. So I called Kolya
and Natasha as we were already
in contact and we decided to
work together. And this is how
the Free Theatre began.
UPSOF VLADIMIR: These things
should have already been done.
It’s the technical run through
at 5! I don’t know, we’ve
already wasted half an hour on
this damn radio and we hardly
have any time. Let’s get on
with it.
PAVEL SOT: Vladimir is very
(A9x19)
GFX slate: Pavel
00:12:09
music
GVs Vladimir
00:12:15
(A4b)
00:12:29
Zone of Silence GVs
00:12:50
(A9x15) (Russian,
subtitled)
00:13:00
Split screen GFX slate for
Yana and Marina
00:13:07
(A9x15)
00:13:21
cool guy. Sometimes he is very
angry, coz he knows how to do
it. He is very talented. I’m
very grateful to work with him.
He is the best director in
Belarus. There’s no others.
VLADIMIR SOT: All of us who
worked on the state theatre
were squeezed out. It was done
very carefully, but we were all
squeezed out.
VOICEOVER: Artists here have a
genuine creative freedom, but
the personal and financial
pressures can be a burden.
Most people are employed by the
state in Belarus, so to oppose
it means losing your job. And
sometimes there are
implications for friends and
family.
YANA SOT: I hope that as long
as I have the strength and
desire. Because I like it here
and I can do what I like.
MARINA SOT: I have started
working with an actress who was
fired from the state theatre
because of me. They have a
little shop that sells handmade
crafts and I sell goods there.
PAVEL SOT: I had problems…
..and we have been arrested.
They take us to the police
department, where we spent
01:14:53
Pasha GVs, Flower for Pina
Bausch
00:13:55
(A4b) (Russian, subtitled)
00:13:46
cutaway, Zone of Silence
00:13:52
(A15)
(Russian, subtitled)
00:14:33
(Russian, subtitled)
00:15:02
cutaway Being Harold
Pinter
00:15:25
Applause shots
three hours while they check
our documents, our passports.
VLADIMIR SOT: Of course we
understand that we are being
controlled. But this is our
choice….
… I cannot say that I regret
it.
MARINA SOT: I do not consider
myself politically active.
Well, of course I would really
like things to change. And go
on protests. But I am very
afraid actually. I think that
everything I can do, I can do
in the theatre. I think that
it’s great that people who know
nothing about our theatre come
here for a show and leave
thinking and questioning.
VLADIMIR SOT: I think our
primary aim is to speak about
what is happening in Belarus.
It’s not because we think so
highly of ourselves, but
because I understand that many
in the world know about Belarus
because of the Free Theatre.
Today the economic situation
dominates any concerns of human
rights so our work is very
important.
Otherwise the country falls
into a deep sleep. We continue
to fight because it’s important
for us. Maybe this is what
gives our art its impulse.
00:15:36
Birthday party GVs
Music
(Russian, subtitled)
00:16:02
(A4b)
(Russian, subtitled)
00:16:20
CAPTION: Happy birthday,
Kolya!
00:16:24
external theatre GVs
(Russian subtitled)
00:16:47
(A9x5)
00:17:06
GFX slate split-screen
VIKA/NIKITA
music
00:17:15
(A13)
(Russian, subtitled)
KOLYA SOT: Today is special
because there are two events.
One is important, and the other
is not. The important thing is
that the theatre is five years
old. And the unimportant thing
is that it’s my birthday.
NATASHA SOT: Congratulations to
everyone and thanks to those of
you who have been with us for
the past five difficult years.
KOLYA SOT: Eventually we
understood that actors from the
state theatre were not suitable
for us, but also that we needed
to expand out troupe. We
realised that we had to create
these actors ourselves so we
created a studio which prepares
actors and drama practitioners
for the Free Theatre.
VIKA & NIKITA SOT: We are
studying here. Acting,
writing, directing, drama
writing, singing, boxing,
contact improvisation, and
other disciplines. A lot,
really a lot.
KOLYA SOT: We teach them
ourselves – Vladimir, Natasha
and I. Other Belarusian
teachers also come in and we
are constantly inviting foreign
specialists who come from
different countries to teach.
00:17:34
cutaway of Vika
rehearsing
00:17:51
music
Clare and Alex enter/GX
slate with upsof
(A9/A10/A14)
00:18:16
Yaro shows Clare and Alex
to apartment
00:18:22
Clare and Alex discussion
in flat
(A8x)
00:19:39
music
GVs of Minsk
CAPTION: Let Belarus
VIKA SOT: I don’t speak with my
friends from uni about the Free
Theatre because there will be
some problems with my studies.
NIKITA SOT: Or no, not
problems, they just say
goodbye.
CLARE: They’re so brave. Even
after one day of being here, I
began to feel creatively
scared, as well as being
personally scared.
ALEX: I definitely felt
uncomfortable, and I actually
felt that sort of physical heat
rising through you. The fear, I
suppose, which I’m not used to
feeling.
CLARE: We’re still naïve to the
systems that operate here, but
were made very aware of it this
morning when we tried to go on
the Internet. We bought two wifi
cards and sent one email.
And within that time 2 KGB, 2
intimidating men in uniforms…
ALEX: They didn’t approach us,
they came and sat very near us
and I didn’t even dare look at
them. But I felt their
presence.
CLARE: It was terrifying. They
were clearly saying we know who
you are.
bloom!
00:19:42 CAPTION: For
Belarus and for the
people!
00:19:53
Clare and Alex with
Natasha
(A10)
00:20:24
More Minsk GVs
00:20:54
music
Minsk GVs
00:21:12
Natasha and Kolya at home
00:21:36
music
London protest cutaway
Aston: London
00:22:07
GVs of Belarusian Embassy
in London and protest
NATASHA SOT: People are not
coming here coz the country is
closed. Not because somebody
closed it, but it’s closing
from inside….
…It’s like self-isolation. We
call it cultural hunger. There
is no information coming from
inside. And when you are here,
it is so obvious, because the
streets are huge and empty and
when Tom was here he said it’s
like the set has been designed
but the actors haven’t appeared
yet. You just don’t feel life.
It’s so difficult to feel the
source of energy here.
NATASHA SOT: We live here with
my parents. And we have two
daughters. One is 11, and one
is 16. Of course we worry about
the family and friends. If you
want to change the situation in
Belarus you will be under
harassment all the time…
…And when you get moral support
from outside, sometimes it’s
even much more important than
any other ways of support. The
letters from the States, the
UK, you know you need to
continue.
VOICEOVER: The theatre’s
reputation outside Belarus
offers it some protection. This
is a demonstration at the
00:22:30
(B11)
Aston:
Sir Tom Stoppard,
Playwright
00:22:44
(B11)
Aston:
Aleksandr Mikhnevich
Belarusian Ambassador to
the UK
00:23:24
(B11)
Belarusian embassy in London.
They’re protesting against a
new law imposed by Presidential
decree in July 2010.
Internet users must now be
registered and their online
activities can be monitored.
It’s a blow for the Free
Theatre who use the Internet to
connect with the outside world.
Sir TOM STOPPARD SOT: We’re
outside your embassy because
unfortunately your country’s
record on human rights has
brought us here.
BELARUSIAN AMBASSADOR: The fact
that for the current power was
supported by 80% of the
population means that people
support it and they are
satisfied with what is
happening in my country.
SIR TOM: I don’t think it’s
80%, forgive me, but the same
was true about Czechoslovakia
in 1989.
SIR TOM SOT: The general
situation is that the internet
decree is not a unique issue
that has brought a few people
to the embassy. The internet
decree is an occasion which
draws together concerns about
friends in Belarus going back
several years….
…The concerns are as much to do
with what has been called the
last dictatorship of Europe, to
do with the severe restrictions
who put themselves forward as
opposition to the President
Lukashenko, and believe me, to
put yourself up as a political
00:24:33
music
archive pictures from RER
Belarus
00:24:57
(Russian, subtitled)
00:25:15
cutaway of Zone of Silence
00:25:52
fade to black and to still
image of Aleh Bebenin
00:26:01
music and credits
opposition to the President of
Belarus is something that puts
yourself in the way of real
harm.
VOICEOVER: A number of people
who have taken a stand against
the government in Belarus have
died in mysterious
circumstances or have
disappeared.
Aleg Bebenin, seen here on the
left, was a journalist and
assistant to one of the
opposition’s Presidential
candidates.
In September 2010, he was found
dead.
The authorities say it was
suicide.
KOLYA SOT: We were friends for
16 years. Aleg was a sign of
quality. He was always charged
up to find up news. He could
always take on any subject and
go through with it without
being afraid. This is a sign of
quality.
NATASHA SOT: The only thing
that bothers me is that Belarus
is located in Europe. And there
is a dictatorship for 16 years
already, but other countries
are named. But this one is not
even named. And it is not
possible for me to accept….
…It feels like everyone is
waiting for dead bloody bodies
on the streets in Minsk, so it
is better to pay attention
before it would happen.
00:26:50
end