Berner Bühnengespräche

Dr Darija Davidović (she/her) is a postdoctoral researcher in the SNF project «Ästhetisierung von Kriegsgewalt in zeitgenössischen performativen Künsten» at Bern University of the Arts (HKB). Her research focuses on Ukrainian exile theatre and post-Yugoslav performing arts, plural cultures of memory, art in exile, and theatre and war. She is a member of the Coalition for Pluralistic Public Discourse (CPPD), a collaborative network of artists, scholars, journalists, and activists who engage with pluralistic cultures of memory in a variety of ways. Darija Davidović curates discourse formats and publishes on the topics of memory, historical politics, historical revisionism, and theatre. Her book «Umkämpfte Kriegsvergangenheit(-en). Geschichtspolitische Strategien im serbischen und kroatischen Gegenwartstheater» was recently published. In it, she examines how post-Yugoslav theatre critically questions wars and memory politics and acts as a historical-political actor in contested discourses on the past.

Dmitrij Gawrisch (born in 1982 in Kyiv, Ukraine) writes prose, plays, radio plays and literary reportage. He grew up in Bern and initially studied business administration and economics at the University of Bern. In 2009/10, he completed the DRAMENPROZESSOR programme and a journalism internship at Handelszeitung, both in Zurich. With his very first play, Brachland, Gawrisch was invited to the Stückemarkt at Berlin Theatertreffen in 2011. This was followed by further plays, which were performed on numerous stages in Germany and abroad. Gawrisch won the Open Mike in Berlin and was city writer in Jena and Rottweil. For his work on his novel Die geblieben sind (Those Who Remained), he received a cross-border scholarship from the Robert Bosch Foundation and the Literary Colloquium Berlin. Gawrisch is a separated father of one son, works part-time as an editor for the magazine REPORTAGEN and commutes between Bern and Berlin. In the 2022/23 season, he was resident writer at Bühnen Bern.

Zarina Tadjibaeva is an actress, director, singer, activist and interpreter. She was born and raised in the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan. After graduating from high school and studying electrical engineering, Tadjibaeva moved to Germany, where she studied translation and interpreting at University of Saarbrücken. From 1996 to 2008, she worked as a court and administrative interpreter for Russian and Persian at the Saarbrücken Regional Court and the Federal Office for Migration in Nuremberg. Since moving to Switzerland in 2008, she has been working as an interpreter for Swiss authorities. From 2008 to 2012, she completed her acting training at Zurich Drama School. Since then, she has been working as a freelance actress, director and singer. The successful theatre production «Verschtehsch?» (2018) marked the start of her solo career. This was followed by the play «Zarina zeigt den Vogel» (2020). With her dance and theatre performance «Metamorphose» (2020, ReBelle Art Compagnie & Tanzhaus Zurich), she addresses the role of women in Central Asia. In 2023, she was selected for «Inkubator Rote Fabrik Zurich» and produced «Neutralisiert» at Rote Fabrik together with Julia Skof. Since 2023, she has been leading her own «Empowerment Workshop» for women with refugee and trauma backgrounds at the sogar theatre and ThiK Baden. She performs her intercultural performances at the «About Us Festival». Zarina Tadjibaeva lives in Meilen. www.zarina.ch

Last season, we continued what began in autumn 2023 as part of the «m2act X Burning Issues» conference: a discussion about burning issues in the performing arts. At Dampfzentrale, representatives of the three Bernese theatres discussed «Rivalry and Ensemble», in the foyer of Stadttheater they talked about «Theatre and Politics», and at SHT they discussed «Language and Identity». The different structures as well as similar concerns were addressed and questions discussed that theatre and dance professionals from the independent scene and institutional theatre have in view of the burning issues of the day. One thing is clear: this was only the beginning!

There is still much to talk about, and the conversation continues. The big questions about fair work in theatre and dance, better work-life balance, and more (gender) equality in the performing arts are on the agenda, as are questions about resilience and passion and the stage as a laboratory for utopia and dystopia. The series of talks has three episodes. Together with artists from the three institutions as well as local and national guests, we will discuss the burning issues of the 2025/26 season.