East West Theatre Company (Bosnian: East West Centar) was established in 2005 in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. It is a nonprofit cultural institution which produces performing arts programs, publications, films, and music events. It also organizes touring shows, discussions, forums, master-classes and workshops. Important components of its work include a creation of new work and a commitment to international cooperation.
Leadership
Haris Pašović
Haris Pašović (born 16 July 1961) is a Bosnian theatre director. Over the course of his career, he has also worked as a playwright, producer, choreographer, performer, and designer. He is best known for his productions of Wedekind's “ Spring A ...
, Director of the East West Theatre Company is a theatre and film director whose achievements include: co-founding of the Directing Department at the Performing Arts Academy in Sarajevo; managing the International Theatre and Film Festival MES during the siege of Sarajevo (during which he produced a production of
Waiting for Godot directed by
Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag (; January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004) was an American writer, philosopher, and political activist. She mostly wrote essays, but also published novels; she published her first major work, the essay "Notes on 'Camp'", in 1964. Her ...
); founding of the Sarajevo Film Festival "Beyond the End of the World" during the siege of Sarajevo; founding of the East West Theatre Company in Sarajevo.
History and repertoire
The East West Theatre Company has been performing extensively in the Balkan region and around the world. Some of the venues it performed at include the Edinburgh International Festival; Napoli Teatro Festival Italia, National Arts Festival of South Africa; Singapore Arts Festival; International Theatre Festival Poland as well as the festivals in St. Petersburg, Sibiu, Ljubljana, Belgrade, Zagreb, and many others.
The East West Theatre Company's repertoire consists of the following shows: W. Shakespeare's
''Hamlet'';
''Faust'' based on Marlowe; N. Williams' ''
Class Enemy
The term enemy of the people or enemy of the nation, is a designation for the political or class opponents of the subgroup in power within a larger group. The term implies that by opposing the ruling subgroup, the "enemies" in question are ac ...
'' (2007-), Michael Frayn's
''Copenhagen'';
''Bolero, Sarajevo'' based on Maurice Ravel's work; Ibsen inspired
''Nora''; H.C.Andersen's
''The Ugly Duckling''; H. Pašović's ''
Football, Football''; a documentary film ''Dreamers'';
''Europe Today'' based on
Miroslav Krleža
Miroslav Krleža (; 7 July 1893 – 29 December 1981) was a Yugoslav and Croatian writer who is widely considered to be the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century. He wrote notable works in all the literary genres, including poetry (''Ba ...
's essay and ''
Roses for Anne Teresa/Football Stories
''Roses for Anne Teresa / Football Stories'' is a joint theatre production of East West Theatre Company from Sarajevo and Bosnian National Theatre Zenica. The show is dedicated to Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, a choreographer and her masterpiece ''Ro ...
''.
William Shakespeare's ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' was performed in several countries and it was set in the context of the Ottoman Empire. It was one of the Balkan's largest regional co-productions in the past twenty-five years and it involved artists from eight countries. British Reuters,
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
as well as many other media outlets reported about the production. Amar Selimović, as Hamlet, was awarded the Best Young Actor Award at the International Theatre Festival MES Sarajevo.
''Faust'' (produced in 2006) opened the MES Festival Sarajevo 2006 and in only two days attracted (for Bosnia and Herzegovina) record breaking 2,000 spectators. Based on
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe (; baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the ...
's masterpiece, this production was set in the near future and it examined the impact of the rapid development of technology on contemporary life.
As the first Balkan company ever, the East West Theatre Company participated at the
Edinburgh International Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially classical music) and the performing arts are i ...
2008 with Nigel Williams’ play ''
Class Enemy
The term enemy of the people or enemy of the nation, is a designation for the political or class opponents of the subgroup in power within a larger group. The term implies that by opposing the ruling subgroup, the "enemies" in question are ac ...
'' (produced in 2007). It is a play about juvenile violence and disillusioned youth adapted to Bosnian circumstances. ''The Times'', ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'', ''The Guardian'', ''The Herald'', ''The Independent'', ''The Scotsman'', ''Scotland on Sunday'', BBC, BBC World Service and many other British media reported extensively about the East West Theatre Company. ''
Class Enemy
The term enemy of the people or enemy of the nation, is a designation for the political or class opponents of the subgroup in power within a larger group. The term implies that by opposing the ruling subgroup, the "enemies" in question are ac ...
'' has been pronounced as the Best Contemporary Show at the International Festival Kontakt, Toruń, Poland, and as The Best Play of the Year in Singapore's leading newspaper ''
Straits Times
''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establishe ...
'' and the leading theatre portal The Flying Inkpot.
In 2008, East West Theatre Company toured with ''
Class Enemy
The term enemy of the people or enemy of the nation, is a designation for the political or class opponents of the subgroup in power within a larger group. The term implies that by opposing the ruling subgroup, the "enemies" in question are ac ...
'' in Scotland in the small cities such as
Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated t ...
,
Rutherglen
Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...
, and
Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
. With the same play, East West Theatre Company also toured to more than thirty Bosnia and Herzegovina towns. Most of the tour towns have not hosted a single theatre production for several decades prior to the arrival of the East West Theater Company's ''
Class Enemy
The term enemy of the people or enemy of the nation, is a designation for the political or class opponents of the subgroup in power within a larger group. The term implies that by opposing the ruling subgroup, the "enemies" in question are ac ...
''.
In 2010, East West Theatre Company was invited to create an international theatre and dance production ''
Football, Football''. The show was written and directed by
Haris Pašović
Haris Pašović (born 16 July 1961) is a Bosnian theatre director. Over the course of his career, he has also worked as a playwright, producer, choreographer, performer, and designer. He is best known for his productions of Wedekind's “ Spring A ...
, and produced in cooperation with Napoli Teatro Festival,
Singapore Arts Festival
Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) is an annual arts festival held in Singapore. It is organised bArts House Limitedfor the National Arts Council. The festival is usually held in mid-year for a stretch of one month and incorporates th ...
, Les Ballet C de la B, legendary contemporary dance company and Flota Institute from Slovenia. Since the May 2010 opening, the show has been performed fifteen times on three continents (Europe, Asia and Africa). The artists coming from four continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia) and seven countries (Italy, Slovenia, Singapore, Burkina Faso, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China and Australia) gathered to work on the project.
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
, British
Guardian
Guardian usually refers to:
* Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another
* ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper
(The) Guardian(s) may also refer to:
Places
* Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
,
Channel News Asia
CNA (stylised as cna), which is an acronym derived from its previous name, Channel NewsAsia, is a Singaporean multinational news channel owned by the country's national public broadcaster Mediacorp. It broadcasts free-to-air domestically in Sin ...
, CNN Mexico,
China Daily
''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party.
Overview
''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...
,
India Times
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest se ...
, Daily News Pakistan,
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
and media in Italy, Spain, Australia, Singapore and Indonesia wrote extensively about the show.
''
Football, Football'' was a highlight of the National Arts Festival in South Africa that was taking place during the
FIFA World Cup 2010
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
. During the Napoli Teatro Festival Italia the East West Theatre Company organised a workshop presenting the story of football to 300 kids coming from deprived areas of the region of
Campania
Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
.
Activities
In February 2009, the East West Theatre Company hosted one of the highest-profile theatre companies in Europe, Schaubühne Berlin, as a central part of the project East West Fest – Berlin in Sarajevo. This was one of the events in Europe that marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Schaubühne Theatre presented themselves to local audience with three of their productions:
Shakespeare's ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' directed by
Thomas Osteremeir played in the Olympic Hall Zetra before more than 2,500 spectators, Arthur Miller's ''
Death of a Salesman
''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a montag ...
'' directed by Luk Perceval and F. Richter ''Under Ice'' in the National Theatre for more than 1,300 spectators.
In 2007 and 2008, East West organized events in the National Theatre Sarajevo celebrating April 6 – The Liberation Day of the City of Sarajevo.
In February 2011 East West Theatre Company co-produced a show called
''Europe Today''. Their co-producer was the largest Slovenian theatre –
Slovene National Theatre, Maribor
The Maribor Slovene National Theatre (SNG Maribor) is a theatre in Maribor, northeastern Slovenia. Its performances of drama, opera, and ballet annually attract the country's largest theatrical audiences.
Performances
The theatre regularly hosts ...
and European Cultural Capital 2012 Maribor. The show was written by
Miroslav Krleža
Miroslav Krleža (; 7 July 1893 – 29 December 1981) was a Yugoslav and Croatian writer who is widely considered to be the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century. He wrote notable works in all the literary genres, including poetry (''Ba ...
and directed by Haris Pašović with some of the finest artists in the region:
Miki Manojlović
Predrag "Miki" Manojlović ( sr-cyr, Предраг "Мики" Манојловић; born 5 April 1950) is a Serbian actor, famous for his starring roles in some of the most important films of former Yugoslav cinema. Since the early 1990s, he su ...
, an actor;
Edward Clug
Edward Clug (born 1973 in Beiuș, SR Romania) is an international renowned choreographer in the field of contemporary ballet and a director of Maribor Ballet. Clug studied classical ballet in Cluj-Napoca.[Laibach
Laibach () is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neo-classical genres. Formed in the mining town of Trbovlje (at the time in Yugoslavia) in 1980, Laibach represents the musical wing of the Neue Slo ...]
. The dramaturge of the production was the
Zagreb Youth Theatre ZeKaeM, abbreviated from Zagreb Youth Theater ( hr, Zagrebačko kazalište mladih) is a theatre in Zagreb, Croatia formerly run by the Union of Pioneers of Yugoslavia
Union of Pioneers of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Savez pionira J ...
director, Dubravka Vrgoč.
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
gave it excellent reviews rated it with four stars.
In the past three years East West Theatre Company has organized master classes and workshops with some of the Europe's leading directors, producers and choreographers such as Thomas Ostermeier (artistic director of Schaubuhne), Luk Perceval (artistic director of Thalía Theatre Hamburg), Tobias Veit (chief producer of Schaubuhne),
James Morrison (producer of Guthrie Theatre Minneapolis), Mark Russel (director of
Under the Radar Festival
The Under the Radar Festival was a theater festival in New York City, founded in 2005 by Mark Russell (festival director), Mark Russell, former Artistic Director of Performance Space 122, P.S. 122 for over twenty years and also Guest Artistic Direc ...
New York), Steve Kirkham and Madelaine Brennan (choreographer from Mathew Bourne's New Adventures), Larisa Lipovac and Tamara Curić (directors of Contemporary Dance Center TALA, Zagreb). Haris Pašović, artistic director held workshops for Scottish theatre and film directors in Edinburgh and master classes for professionals in Belfast, Singapore, Zagreb and Subotica.
In October 2011 East West Theatre Company, in co-production with Prime Cut Productions from Belfast, the
Bosnian National Theatre Zenica
Bosnian National Theatre Zenica is a theater institution founded in 1950 in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has produced more than 10,000 performances, including about 650 premieres.
Bosnian National Theatre is located in a building in the b ...
and the Slovenian Youth Theatre of Ljubljana organized a five-day workshop in Zenica on the theme "Do the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Northern Ireland have the right to be happy? ". This workshop was greatly inspired by
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...
's work The Conquest of Happiness, and materials generated there will serve as a basis for a future production.
East West Theatre Company and the City of Sarajevo are the main organizers of a large-scale event called
Sarajevo Red Line
Sarajevo Red Line (''locally: Sarajevska Crvena Linija'') is the name of the memorial event organized in cooperation between the City of Sarajevo and East West Theatre Company which commemorated the Siege of Sarajevo's 20th anniversary. It was held ...
which in April 2012 commemorated the
Siege of Sarajevo
The Siege of Sarajevo ( sh, Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav ...
's 20th anniversary. This drama and music poem dedicated to citizens killed during the 1992-96 siege of their city consisted of 11,541 red chairs placed on the main Sarajevo street and it also included a street exhibition and a concert.
Partners
East West Theatre Company has collaborated with many partners, such as
British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
, MOTT Foundation, Open Society Fond,
Goethe Institut
The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...
, LOTTO Foundation Berlin, Schaubuhne Berlin,
US Embassy
The United States has the second most diplomatic missions of any country in the world after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as observer state Vatican City and non-member countries Kosovo a ...
, UK Embassy, Norway Embassy, French Embassy, NATO, EUFOR, OSCE, the Council of City of Belgrade, the City of Sarajevo, the City of Zagreb, the City of Ljubljana, the Ministry of Culture of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Canton Sarajevo, the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH. We also collaborated with some of the most prestigious world festivals, such as Edinburgh International Festival, Singapore Arts Festival, Napoli Teatro Festival Italy, International Theatre Festival Kontakt (Poland), Sibiu International Festival (Romania), EX Ponto (Slovenia), Sterijino Pozorje (Novi Sad), International Theatre Festival MES Sarajevo, International Theatre Festival Ohrid Summer (Macedonia) and Yugoslav Drama Theatre in Belgrade, Kosztolany Theatre in Subotica, Mladinsko Gledališče in Lubljana, Zagreb Youth Theatre, TALA Centre etc.
East West Theatre Company won the 2009 Golden Wreath for Contribution to Theatre at the International Theatre Festival MES Sarajevo.
Productions
* The Conquest of Happiness,
The Stage: ''Derry City of Culture unveils line-up'' by Michael Quinn [cited June 04, 2012]
/ref> new work theatre production
* Sarajevo Red Line
Sarajevo Red Line (''locally: Sarajevska Crvena Linija'') is the name of the memorial event organized in cooperation between the City of Sarajevo and East West Theatre Company which commemorated the Siege of Sarajevo's 20th anniversary. It was held ...
, memorial art installation
Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...
and concert
* Roses for Anne Teresa/Football Stories
''Roses for Anne Teresa / Football Stories'' is a joint theatre production of East West Theatre Company from Sarajevo and Bosnian National Theatre Zenica. The show is dedicated to Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, a choreographer and her masterpiece ''Ro ...
, new work theatre production
* Europe Today, new work theatre production
* Football, Football, new work theatre production
* Class Enemy
The term enemy of the people or enemy of the nation, is a designation for the political or class opponents of the subgroup in power within a larger group. The term implies that by opposing the ruling subgroup, the "enemies" in question are ac ...
, theatre production
* Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
, theatre production
* ''Hamlet'' by East West Orchestra, music album
* Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...
, theatre production
* Nora
Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to:
* Nora (name), a feminine given name
People with the surname
* Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer
* Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian
Places Australia
* Norah Head, New South Wales, headland ...
, theatre production
* Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, theatre production
* Bolero, Sarajevo, theatre/dance production
* The Ugly Duckling
"The Ugly Duckling" ( da, Den grimme ælling) is a Danish literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). It was first published on 11 November 1843 in ''New Fairy Tales. First Volume#New Fairy Tales. Fir ...
, theatre production
* Dreamers
Dreamers or The Dreamers may refer to:
Books
* "Dreamers", a 1918 war poem by Siegfried Sassoon
* "The Dreamers" (play), a 1982 play by Jack Davis
* ''The Dreamers'' (novel series), a 2003–06 fantasy series by David Eddings and Leigh Eddings ...
, film
* Creators of the Whole: 20 years of Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo's Directing Department (''Original title - Tvorci cjeline: 20 godina Odsjeka za režiju Akademije scenskih umjetnosti u Sarajevu''), book
References
{{authority control
Theatre companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Culture in Sarajevo
2005 establishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Theatres in Bosnia and Herzegovina