The long-term challenges of climate change raise the issue of adapting to new conditions and of potential preparedness to face the consequences of its expected effects on nature and society. Accordingly, the theatre faces the task of developing green philosophies and taking eco-turns in considering artistic narratives and production models, business strategies, and organizational cultures. The lecture analysed transformation processes from the perspective of policies and measures taken by contemporary theatre systems, as well as their contribution to the sustainable development of the communities within which they operate, considering social, economic and climate (in)equalities.
To fulfil its role as a social agent, it is not enough for the theatre to call attention to certain political or social issues of the community. It needs to upgrade its artistic strategies, and simultaneously redesign – in the context of climate-change challenges – its modes of production into elements and factors of the theatre’s politicality. This two-way dynamic relation between policies and the theatre enables us to analyse current theatre forms from the perspective of climate change and the possibilities of applying green concepts to social environments that do not associate strategic cultural development with sustainability.
The research relies on an empirical method that includes the examination of green policies in eight public city theatres in Belgrade, focusing on their implementation of structural and non-structural measures in both the management of the institution and the process of producing performances. It will analyse structural measures, including house resource-saving and energy efficiency measures, procurement policies, concepts of reusing and recycling, and non-structural measures, such as the representation of communicating sustainability and audience participation in creating a new narrative that is not necessarily related to artistic creation. A change of paradigm can also be related to effective sustainable production and management, and their implementation in a cultural landscape that lacks a broader understanding of, and experience in, applying green concepts; tools and guidelines; and role models and platforms; and in which policies are entering the centre of discussion. Thus, the theatre becomes a more politically relevant and prominent cultural voice, sustained in today’s society.
If we see the role of theatre practice in the current social context as a platform for innovation, but also for initiating dialogue with the community on specific issues, then this paper will identify the challenges and possibilities for the theatre to act as an agent of change, in a framework where there is no clear and defined concurrence of environmental and cultural policies in rethinking a common future.
Doctor Jovana Karaulić is a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDA), The Department for Management and Production in Theatre, Radio and Culture. She is a team member of the Interactive Arts Laboratory, which is an artistic research hub for new media and technologies at FDA. She is also a member of the IETM network, and a team member of the following FDA projects, supported by Creative Europe: “Culture as a Unique Resource to Inspire, Outreach & Understand Science – CURIOUS” and “Stronger Peripheries”. Jovana has produced numerous independent theatre projects, and she is a laureate of the City of Belgrade Prize for the Opening Ceremony of the Universiade. Jovana is a board member of ASSITEJ Serbia and the founder of Green Theatre Initiative Serbia. She has also published in relevant journals and conference proceedings and co-edited the international thematic monograph Performing Arts Between Politics and Policies: Implications and Challenges, published by FDU Belgrade and ADU from Zagreb.