Side events

ETC Spring Theatre Tour from Stuttgart to Zagreb starts on April 18, 2013

The European Theatre Convention (ETC), Europe’s leading non-profit network of public theatres, is using the occasion of its 25th anniversary to examine the role of European theatre at a time of uncertainty and crisis on the continent. In its first ever ETC Spring Theatre Tour (18 – 24 April 2013), a select number of young artists and theatre-makers, leading media and key cultural stakeholders have been invited to join together on a unique trans-European bus journey to witness not only how theatre as an art form participates in political and social agendas but to visit some of the theatres that make that happen.

Starting at the Staatstheater Stuttgart, Germany, the ETC Spring Theatre Tour will continue from west to Eastern Europe, travelling to the ETC member theatres - Théâtre de la Place, Liège, Belgium, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Germany, Schauspielhaus Zürich, Switzerland, Teatro Metastasio di Prato-Stabile della Toscana, Prato, Italy, Slovene National Theatre, Maribor, Slovenia, Slovak National Theatre, Bratislava, Slovakia and Zagreb Youth Theatre (z/k/m), Zagreb, Croatia, along the way. In engaging with these venues the tour aims to promote the culturally and politically relevant but often unsung work developed by Europe’s publicly-funded repertory theatres that these venues represent.

While guests on the bus will join diverse local audiences in watching an inspiring mix of productions in each selected venue, the theatres will also promote a specific theme. The programme of the ETC Spring Tour thus reflects or questions central topics relevant in the context of today’s European culture. These themes will be addressed through a series of enlivening talks, activities, on-site tours and rehearsals, both at the theatres and during the bus journey itself. The themes are Theatre & Politics in the City (Stuttgart), The Way from Theatre Schools to Professional Stage (Liège), Theatre for the Very Young (Karlsruhe), Theatre & Media (Zürich), Theatre and the Decadence of Europe (Prato), Theatre in Nation Building (Maribor), The Paradox of the Old and New (Bratislava) and The Contemporary Play (Zagreb).

On the bus will be five young theatre artists, from a variety of different theatre disciplines. These artists are Anne Habermehl, Writer/Director (Germany), Gina Calinou, Actress (Romania), Daniel Hengst, Video Artist (Germany), Goran Ferčec, Playwright/Director (Croatia) and Deborah Stevenson, Poet (UK) who have each been nominated by an ETC member theatre for this opportunity to experience the work of Europe’s public theatres and encourage development of artistic practices. Each day one of them will discuss and present their art and their impressions of working in contemporary theatre today.

For more details on the tour please consult our website: www.etc-cte.org. Especially the categories “Highligt of the day” and “Daily Diary” are updated on a regularly basis.