Bitef

A true outbreak of new tendencies is happening in the world of theatre. The latest tendencies are so many that even the most dedicated theorists are

NEW

left breathless trying to define them. Needless to say, these groups are comprised of very young artists and

ENERGY

orthodox theafrologists concede that they belong in the theatre only with considerable reluctance. These new young groups burst forth almost daily or, as it

94

were, nightly, last a few seasons, four several festivals and disappear. Not for good, though. The artists from those companies are still around; they reconverge, under a new name, in a new country - and there they go again, at a new festival, on an old square and an even older clearing in the woods. They use all the skills of this ancient world: acting, movement, acrobatics, fireworks, costumes, nudity. They perceive this world in their own way. In other words, they also have their aesthetic credos and their philosophy. They may or may not be formulated but they're there. They sense the apocalypse of our world in spite of the pretences of the powers that be to arrange it after their own heart. They know how to have fun, and they can also get wrathful. But - all they do, they do with a new energy, typical of these years which one might term as »fin de millénaire« just as the end of the 19th century was termed »fin de siècle«. This time, there is less decadence and melancholy, and more wrath and energy. Today's generation of artists perceives the past and present of the mankind as a never ending apocalypse. I hope that the companies coming to Belgrade in September '94 regardless of all the difficulties, will get across to the BITEF's tenacious and faithful audience an impression about that new and different energy. ■ Jovan Ćirilov