Against capitalist (pseudo)freedom. Theatrical manifestos on post-Yugoslav stages

Abstract

The turn of the millennia was full of events fundamental to negotiating and reinterpreting freedom. The citizens of the collapsing federal Yugoslavia, and then the seven new states that were forming, experienced this in a special way. Post-Yugoslav authors of theatrical manifestos, such as Maja Pelević and Olga Dimitrijević from Serbia, Borut Šeparović from Croatia, András Urbán and Zlatko Paković active in the supralocal area, show a special flair for unmasking. They warn that modern ways of exercising freedom leave much to be desired, since they are limited to the consumption of goods and, consequently, to escaping responsibility. In their performances, they are critical of capitalism in its dehumanising, alienating form, which is only an illusion of freedom. These artists, however, do not offer ready-made solutions — their projects are a starting point for further debate on devising the future of the country and region, on attitudes and relationships (including interpersonal), on (re)constructing identity and on the continuous creation of new ranges of possibilities and effects. They use artistic freedom to speak openly about the boundaries of freedom.