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Natalia Koliada, Nikolai Khalezin and Vladmir Shcherban (Belarus Free Theatre)<\/b><\/p>\nNatalia Koliada, Nikolai Khalezin and Vladmir Shcherban (Belarus Free Theatre)<\/b><\/p>\n
Natalia Koliada<\/b>\u00a0is a co-artistic director and producer of Belarus Free Theatre alongside her husband Nicolai. Natalia has been detained three times for participation in peaceful political and theatrical activities. She was the first person to be detained at a street protest against enforced disappearances in Belarus. She was convicted for publishing the Monitoring of Human Rights on the Internet. Her father, professor Andrei Kaliada, was dismissed from the Academy of the Arts for cooperation with Belarus Free Theatre and was physically attacked as a result; the criminal investigation case on it was closed down. Natalia has been co-producer with Nicolai Khalezin all BFT productions, including the latest\u00a0King Lear<\/i>\u00a0for the \u201cGlobe to Globe\u201d Festival for the Cultural Olympics in London, and\u00a0Trash Cuisine.<\/i><\/p>\n
Nicolai Khalezin\u00a0<\/b>is\u00a0<\/b>a co-artistic\u00a0<\/b>director of Belarus Free Theatre, playwright and journalist.\u00a0<\/b>Nicolai was arrested four times for participation in peaceful political protest rallies and theatrical activities. He was taken to trial for organising a peaceful political street rally. His plays are forbidden to be staged in Belarus. In summer 2010 he was attacked outside his house. The criminal investigation case on the attack was closed down. Nicolai is the author of 14 plays including\u00a0Generation Jeans<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Here I Am<\/i>,\u00a0and has won numerous awards recognizing his contribution to humanitarian theatre. See Natalia\u2019s biography for co-productions under Belarus Free Theatre.\u00a0Directed and adapted\u00a0Trash Cuisine<\/i>, dedicated to the international issue of the death penalty, which sold out at the Young Vic in London in 2013.<\/p>\n
Vladimir Shcherban\u00a0<\/b>is an associate director and deviser of a majority of BFT shows.\u00a0<\/i>He\u00a0<\/b>became a director at the Yanka Kupala National Academic Theatre in 1999 but was dismissed in 2006 for his cooperation with Belarus Free Theatre. Various performances by Shcherban in Belarus have been cancelled and he has been detained for his professional activities. In 2008, together with Nicolai Khalezin and Natalia Kaliada, he helped found Fortinbras, the only underground arts school in Belarus. Productions directed for Belarus Free Theatre include:\u00a0<\/i><\/b>4.48. Psychosis; We.Self-Indentification; We.Belliwood; Technique of Breezing in a Vacuum; Zone of Silence; Being Harold Pinter; A Flower for Pina Bausch; New York \u201979; Minsk, 2011: A Reply to Kathy Acker, as well as\u00a0King Lear<\/i>\u00a0for the \u201cGlobe to Globe\u201d Festival for the Cultural Olympics in London, premiered at Shakespeare\u2019s Globe in 2012 and brought back for a week\u2019s run in 2013. His production of \u201cBeloved Ones and Siblings\u201d was directed by him for BFT via Skype from London with actors underground in Belarus.<\/p>\n