The project aims to promote the social inclusion of young people with disabilities through their involvement in a collaborative creative process that fosters their mental health and well-being and promotes tolerance and empathy among their peers and the general public.

This is the fourth phase of Plavo Theatre’s innovative inclusion program for youth with disabilities, which started during the Covid pandemic, when this target group was particularly vulnerable to declining mental and physical well-being. Plavo Theatre will partner with the Academic Inclusive Association (AIA) and the Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation (FASPER) during the six-month implementation period. A series of workshops conducted by Plavo Theatre and AIA for youth with and without disabilities, aged 18-30, FASPER teachers and other professionals in special education and rehabilitation will culminate in a theatre play on human rights and discrimination, which will be performed in Belgrade and Uzice.

The project is being realized from January until the end of June 2025 with the support of the program Australian Aid.

within the framework of JUSTLAB project

https://justlab-online.eu/

The Archive of Knowledge is an online platform which presents the laboratory theatre production process undertaken during the creation of the play, The Passage, a key component of the international project, The Paradox of Justice – European Laboratory Theatre Co-production (JUSTLAB).

By sharing our collection of written and visual material from every phase – from inception to wrap-up – of production of The Passage, the Archive of Knowledge serves as a resource for other theatres in Europe and globally, including those working with deaf artists.

On the platform, you will find:

• A handbook, Strategy of Implementation of Methodologies, focusing on laboratory theatre

• A video collection which includes:
• Work-in-progress videos made by each partner
• Three documentary films:
  • Pre-creative Methodology of the Laboratory Theatre Process
  • Creative Methodology of the Laboratory Theatre Process
  • Paradox of Justice – Reflections on Anthropocentrism
• A filmed performance of The Passage
• The Artists Speak – a collection of writings, interviews, sketches, etc. made by individuals involved in the project which documents their reflections and experiences of the creative process.

Materials are available in English, Polish, German, and Serbian, while the three documentary films are interpreted into International Sign Language.

Although JUSTLAB project is coming to its conclusion, we are pleased that learning and sharing from our artistic process can carry on through the Archive of Knowledge platform.  

The Paradox of Justice – European Laboratory Theatre Co-production (JUSTLAB), is a project implemented under the Creative Europe program, and led by PLAVO Theatre, a theatre laboratory from Serbia, in partnership with Theaterlabor Bielefeld from Germany and the Grotowski Institute from Poland. Through knowledge sharing and transnational cooperation and collaboration, the project aimed at promoting values of laboratory theatre, and providing conditions for innovative laboratory practices to develop. It also aimed to increase accessibility and participation of disadvantaged groups to cultural events. The main activities included laboratory work to create a play, The Passage; testing methodologies with local audiences, particularly disadvantaged groups; performing The Passage in all three countries, with interpretation into Sign language and a live stream available; and creating the online Archive of Knowledge.

By triggering a critical reaction to various aspects of injustice in contemporary Europe in audience members, The Passage aimed to raise awareness, enhance dialogue and empathy, and promote societal resilience. More than 50 people participated in the production and performances, including theatre directors, a dramaturge, actors, stage and costume designers, videographers, photographers, interpreters, technicians, a web designer, communication professionals, managers, producers, organizers, and volunteers from the three partner countries. The co-production was performed in Wroclaw, Belgrade, and Bielefeld between February and June 2024, while the livestream has been watched by over 6,500 viewers thus far.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

European Laboratory Theatre Co-production within the framework of JUSTLAB project (page of the project on this website)

 April 4, 2024, at 8 PM, Centre for Cultural Decontamination (CZKD), Birčaninova 21, Belgrade

 PLAVO Theatre – Theaterlabor Bielefeld – Grotowski Institute (Teatr ZAR)

When we think about justice, we think of some kind of balance. Whether it is human beings seeking a balance with nature and all creatures living on this planet, or the idea of justice in social and political life, or even the general desire for harmony. All of the above touch on one need: the courage to rebel, to change, to go through a passage.

All of us who are not satisfied with the world we live in and who long for a better one carry within themselves a feeling of a lack of justice. This disturbing momentum in our souls keeps calling for a rebellion. This rebellion, however, can never lead to victory. It is a rebellion that we cannot live with, but we cannot live without it. This paradox is what makes us human in a world where machines are overpowering the spirit and where there is less and less empathy. 

PLAVO Theatre – theatre laboratory
Directing and dramaturgy Nenad Čolić / Performers Masa Jelic, Dejan Stojković, Marko Potkonjak, Svetlana Ivanov / Costume designer Ivana Čolić / Project manager Dubravka Vujinović / Video and photography Jelena Mitrović, Nikola Mitrović, Anđela Đokić, Anđela Petrovski / Text Franc Kafka, Antonin Artaud, Anna Akhmatova / Music songs of Rosa Balistreri

Theaterlabor Bielefeld
Director Indira Heidemann / Dramaturge Ninke Overbeek / Performers Thomas Behrend, Stefanie Taubert, Alina Tinnefeld / Video and photography Jörn Josiek / Stage designer Ralf Bensel / Project administration: Ralph Würfel (nützlich + schön Kulturbüro) / Text inspired by Frederik Mathias Alexander, Donna Haraway, Richard Wagner

 Grotowski Institute – Teatr ZAR
Dramaturge and director Jarosław Fret / Performers Katya Egorova, Aleksandra Kugacz-Semerci, Mertcan Semerci, Monika Wachowicz / Lights Maciej Mądry / Project manager Jarosław Siejkowski

Photo by: Tobiasz Papuczys

The performance is accessible to deaf spectators through provided translation into Sign language.

Performance The Passage is created as part of the international Creative Europe co-financed project The Paradox of Justice – European Laboratory Theatre Co-production (JUSTLAB), led by PLAVO Theatre – theatre laboratory from Serbia with partner organizations Theaterlabor Bielefeld from Germany and the Grotowski Institute from Poland. The Projects’ main activities include laboratory work in performance creation, testing methodologies with local audiences, particularly disadvantaged groups, performing in 3 countries including a live stream online and interpretation into Sign language, and making an online Archive of Knowledge.

The Paradox of Justice – JUSTLAB

https://justlab-online.eu/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090769350231

https://www.instagram.com/justlab_theatre_coproduction/

 „Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EACEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”

Dear friends of art,

Our existence as an independent theatre organization has always been a struggle in a country like Serbia, that does little to support culture out of the mainstream, with a population that can barely make ends meet. From the very beginning, we have been operating in survival mode, shifting from one space to another, like nomads. In the past, we were always able to find a way to patch up our finances, mainly by way of various national and international cultural grants.

However, two unfortunate events have brought us to a precipice.

1. We have been evicted from the space we had rented for the past decade, as the building we worked in with a host of other independent cultural groups was sold by the government to a private real estate developer.
2. COVID-19 has literally devastated the cultural scene in Serbia, as it has all over the world.

We found ourselves on the street, without any possibility to continue our work. Quitting was not an option, however, we were very lucky to find a beautiful, but run down house in downtown Belgrade, built at the end of the 19th century, perfect for initiating a new independent cultural community in Belgrade.

This is where we need your help. The house requires a lot of adaptation and renovation work, such as fixing the heating, plumbing, electricity and a new floor in one part of the house. We also need to secure resources such as additional theatrical lighting, audio equipment, seating, and curtains in order to be able to stage our performances.

Without these interventions, it is impossible for us to start our work and the clock is ticking. We are literally living on borrowed time and funds.

Dear friends, we invite you to help us create a new home for our theatre and a gathering place for independent culture, where you and all people who hold the arts close to heart are welcome.

To donate, please head over to our GoFundMe campaign page >>