Dogs of Europe

Performed in Belarusian with English surtitles and based on the novel by Alhierd Bacharevič, banned in Belarus, Dogs of Europe is particularly befitting on more than one level. Whilst dystopian works are very much the ‘flavour’ of the moment, the chilling realisation that Dogs of Europe underlines is that much of what is portrayed is not of the future, but is already here.  Fleeing land locked Belarus, theatre producer Natalia Koliada and her human rights activist and playwright husband, Nikolai Khalezin, and the team of actors and musicians, are miraculously, living proof that the current Ukraine war is not new, nor is oppression and persecution.

We hear after the standing ovation at the end that two of the company’s actors are fighting in the current war, that their musicians have lost loved ones, their lead actor had to smuggle his wife out of the country and that the entire company has had to flee their homeland and live in exile. Forced to rehearse in secret locations, Belarus Free Theatre was started in 2005, and in 2007 the show’s Director, Khalezin, actors and audience members were arrested and finally, after 13 years as political exiles, the company, in 2021 made their escape from Belarus. Defiantly flouting further possible imprisonment they continue to teach the messages of freedom, online, to young people in Belarus. Unsurprisingly, they are regarded as one of Belarus’ leading resistance movements.

Belarus is described as "not free" in "Freedom in the World” global surveys since 1998, and it is widely known that dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s government curtails press freedom. State media are subordinate to the President and harassment and censorship of independent media are routine. It is a poorly kept secret that deals, agreements and treaties with Russia dominate trade and Lukashenko’s political hold on the country. Mass protests erupted across the country following the disputed 2020 Belarusian presidential election, and further sanctions were imposed in 2022 following the country's role in the invasion of Ukraine.

The dystopian story in Dogs of Europe moves from 2019 to 2049 – a time when Russia has taken over several countries to form a new European super-state, chillingly named the New Reich, under the control of a secretive and brutal regime in which individual rights no longer exit.

The plot circles, and at first as we meet a captured grandmother and a group of frenetic young men, a teacher coercing his teenage class into doing a time capsule project and we experience the deeply disturbing violin and vocal keening and mournful sounds created by Marichka and Mark Marczyk (a versatile, ever present highlight throughout the performance); the time and place could be anywhere in eastern Europe.

Our onstage journey is accompanied by clever back screen animation and video projection that is captivating, and, at times, an active part of the story - the screen also providing the translation to English. The challenge is to keep up with the frenetic pace of everything tumbling in.

We meet key characters including a 15-year-old boy and a Belarusian poet, desperate to access books and learning, who is faced with people who are dismissive and disdainful of books to the point that they are thrown and kicked around, and ultimately (spoiler alert) in a deeply chilling scene, ritually set alight. All the while we are tormented and challenged by seeing people become the designers of their own terrible destinies.

At times it is completely mystifying, with perhaps complex cultural overtones that I did not grasp. It is baffling, absurdist and horrific, sparing no-one from rape, murder and the worst of human behaviour. It is also witty, melodic and comical. It is challenging, satisfying and immensely entertaining and the sheer stamina of the cast is astounding, particularly the man who symbolically runs naked in circles for the entire interval. Cast members are unnamed and uncredited, and it occurs to me that this may well be for their protection, but each and every performer gives a breathtaking performance.

Dogs of Europe is a tour de force of writing, acting and theatre that celebrates freedom, rebellion, culture and justice. It bravely challenges, defends and reminds us, unsubtly what we may face losing. They know, they have. This is a life changing piece from one of the world’s bravest theatre companies. The season is short. Do not hesitate; this 3-hour piece is a must see.

Jude Hines

Photographer: Adam Forte, Daylight Breaks

Click to read more Adelaide Festival reviews.