There has been a certain tendency of literalism in documentary theatre whereby theatrical performance has customarily tended to honour the truthfulness of factual events. In this session I would like to consider the notion of ‘counterpoint’ between text and performance as a form of productive resistance for engaging the audience in a meaning-making process. I approach the notion of ‘counterpoint’ not as a musicologist but as a theatre and performance researcher and dramaturg.
There are three levels in which we will consider ‘counterpoint’ on this occasion:
Counterpoint as a compositional device;
Counterpoint as a means of an artist’s response to their political reality, (and also to a pre-existing body of work, established conventions and traditions);
Counterpoint as an affective critical attitude that can be generated in the audience in response to live performance.
The session will refer to a number of works that form what I define as the trend of ‘post-verbatim’ theatre, studied as part of the research project website www.auralia.space.
ΒΙΟ
Duška Radosavljević is a writer, dramaturg, researcher and teacher. She is Professorial Research Fellow at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London and currently teaches at the University of Lund, Sweden. Apart from Central where she also led a course in performance-making, she has taught at the Universities of Kent, Bristol, Warwick and Newcastle and has worked as the Dramaturg at Northern Stage Newcastle and in the education department of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Her books include Aural/Oral Dramaturgies: Theatre in the Digital Age (2023), Theatre Criticism: Changing Landscapes (2016), The Mums and Babies Ensemble: A Manual (2015), The Contemporary Ensemble (2013), and Theatre-Making: Interplay Between Text and Performance in the 21st Century (2013). She has written about theatre for The Stage, Exeunt, The Theatre Times and SEEStage.
In 2020-21 she held an AHRC Leadership Fellowship during which she led a team of collaborators in creating the award-winning online repository www.auralia.space.
“When you don’t have all the facts, you realize there’s often a gap between what really happened and what people remember. And if you choose to add a touch of fiction to create a fuller picture in a documentary theatre performance — how can it still feel true?”
Endri Çela – director, actor, and playwright – will share his experience in creating and directing “Flower Sajza”, a play that explores one of the darkest and most hidden parts of Albania’s communist history. With access to only a few official facts, he will explain how he managed to combine these limited truths with personal testimonies from those who lived through that period, along with collected stories and elements of his own imagination. The result is an emotional and thought-provoking performance that examines truth, memory, and identity.
“Flower Sajza” has toured across Albanian-speaking regions in the Balkans and was featured in the Albania/Kosovo Showcase 2024, where it received critical acclaim as a work that authentically captures Albanian history and identity.
BIO
Endri Çela is a theatre director, actor and playwright from Tirana, Albania. He graduated in Theatre Directing from the University of Arts in Tirana in 2010 and has since built a career across national stages, exploring both classical and contemporary works.
Since 2010, Endri has directed over thirty productions, ranging from children’s musicals to experimental dramas, collaborating mainly with the National Experimental Theatre “Kujtim Spahivogli”, the National Children’s Theatre and the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet.
In his early career, Endri worked to make theatre more accessible, particularly to underserved communities. He was involved with the Traveling Theatre, playing a key role in building new audiences through performances and workshops in various cities across Albania.
Endri’s artistic vision is rooted in dreams and the complexity of the human spirit. He is particularly drawn to stories that expose internal conflicts, societal constraints, and the absence of freedom—often weaving contemporary socio-political themes with historical narratives. His work seeks to connect the past with the present, illuminating how history shapes identity and collective memory.
His most notable recent works include “Zullulandia” (2025), “Flower Sajza” (2024), and “The woman destroyed” (2023), which reflect his distinctive approach that merges social themes with poetic imagination, giving voice to both the untold stories of his country and the universal emotions of the human heart.
(The workshop will be held in Greek/Το εργαστήριο θα διεξαχθεί στα ελληνικά)
Πώς διαμορφώνεται μια συλλογική δραματουργία από τα μέλη μιας παράστασης;
Πώς αναμετριέται το προσωπικό βίωμα με την συλλογική εμπειρία και την κοινωνική πραγματικότητα;
Ποιος είναι ο αναβαθμισμένος ρόλος των ηθοποιών, δραματουργών, σκηνοθετών και όλων των συντελεστών της;
Πώς μπορούν να συνδημιουργούν χωρίς να αισθάνονται ότι εκτίθενται ή ότι εκθέτουν τους άλλους;
Και τελικά, πως συναντιέται το θέατρο με την πραγματικότητα;
Μέσα σε ένα εξάωρο συμμετοχικό εργαστήριο για όλες τις ειδικότητες, ο Δημήτρης Μπαμπίλης μοιράζεται βασικά εργαλεία από την διαδρομή του στο Θέατρο του Πραγματικού, δημιουργώντας υβριδικές παραστάσεις που διασχίζουν τα όρια μεταξύ συλλογικής δραματουργίας, έρευνας και τεκμηρίων, που μετατρέπουν το προσωπικό υλικό σε σκηνική αφήγηση, επαναπροσδιορίζοντας τα όρια του συμβατικού θεάτρου.
Το εργαστήριο περιλαμβάνει παρουσιάσεις, ατομικές και ομαδικές ασκήσεις, πρακτικά εργαλεία τεκμηρίωσης και ανοιχτής δραματουργίας σε διάλογο με τον αστικό ιστό και σκηνικά εργαλεία από συναφείς μεθόδους εργασίας. Απευθύνεται σε άτομα που ασχολούνται με την σκηνική πράξη, την δραματουργία, την σκηνοθεσία, τον χορό, την performance και κάθε άλλη ειδικότητα σχετική με την δημιουργία μιας παράστασης.
BIO
Ο Δημήτρης Μπαμπίλης είναι σκηνοθέτης και δραματουργός με έδρα την Αθήνα. Το έργο του συνδυάζει την πραγματικότητα με επιτελεστικές πρακτικές, εμβαθύνοντας σε κοινωνικοπολιτικά γεγονότα και σύγχρονα υπαρξιακά ερωτήματα. Σπούδασε Θεατρικές Σπουδές (BA) στο Πανεπιστήμιο Πατρών και Σκηνοθεσία (MA) στη Σχολή Καλών Τεχνών του Αριστοτελείου Πανεπιστημίου Θεσσαλονίκης υπό την καθοδήγηση του Μιχαήλ Μαρμαρινού.
Η καλλιτεχνική του προσέγγιση έχει διαμορφωθεί μέσα από συνεργασίες και συναντήσεις με πρωτοπόρους καλλιτέχνες και ομάδες, όπως η Marina Abramović, οι La Pocha Nostra και οι Rimini Protokoll στο Βερολίνο, ενισχύοντας τη δέσμευσή του στον διεπιστημονικό πειραματισμό και στο θέατρο ως χώρο ριζοσπαστικού στοχασμού και μετασχηματισμού.
Οι παραστάσεις του διερευνούν ρήγματα στην ταυτότητα, τη βία, τις ανθρώπινες σχέσεις και τη συλλογική μνήμη, ιδιαίτερα σε περιόδους κρίσης. Απορρίπτοντας τις παραδοσιακές καλλιτεχνικές ιεραρχίες και εξερευνώντας τα όρια μεταξύ θεάτρου και πραγματικότητας, καλλιεργεί μια συνεργατική διαδικασία όπου οι σκηνοθέτες, οι performers και οι θεατές συνδιαμορφώνουν ενεργά την θεατρική εμπειρία.
Σκηνοθεσίες και πρωτότυπες δραματουργίες του έχουν παρουσιαστεί σε κορυφαίους διεθνής και ελληνικούς πολιτιστικούς θεσμούς, όπως η Documenta 14, το Εθνικό Θέατρο, η Στέγη Ιδρύματος Ωνάση, η Εθνική Λυρική Σκηνή, το Φεστιβάλ Αθηνών και Επιδαύρου, το Κρατικό Θέατρο Βορείου Ελλάδος, η Πολιτιστική Πρωτεύουσα της Ευρώπης Ελευσίνα 2023, καθώς και σε διεθνή φεστιβάλ στο Ιράκ, την Πορτογαλία, τη Γερμανία, το Κόσοβο και την Κύπρο.
(The workshop will be held in Greek/Το εργαστήριο θα διεξαχθεί στα ελληνικά)
Στο εργαστήριο αυτό θα αναζητήσουμε τους τρόπους και τα εργαλεία που συνθέτουν μια δραματουργία θεάτρου ντοκουμέντο. Θα διερευνήσουμε πως το πρωτογενές υλικό μπορεί να αποτελέσει αφορμή για την παραγωγή πρωτότυπου κειμένου σχηματοποιώντας τα αρχικά στάδια της δραματουργίας. Δουλεύοντας ομαδικά πάνω σε μια συγκεκριμένη θεματική το εργαστήριο φιλοδοξεί να δημιουργήσει ένα πρώτο γράφημα πρωτότυπης δραματουργίας αποτελούμενη από κείμενα τα οποία θα συγγραφούν από την ίδια την ομάδα. Με γνώμονα τόσο την ομαδική συνεργασία όσο και την ατομική έμπνευση θα αναζητήσουμε τη δυναμική του θεατρικού είδους, συνδυάζοντας τη μυθοπλασία με τα πραγματικά ντοκουμέντα, ανακαλύπτοντας παράλληλα τις πολιτικές διαστάσεις αυτής της σύζευξης.
ΒΙΟ
Ο Χάρης Πεχλιβανίδης είναι απόφοιτος του Τµήµατος Θεάτρου της Σχολής Καλών Τεχνών του Α.Π.Θ. Έχοντας λάβει υποτροφία απο το Ι.Κ.Υ ολοκλήρωσε τις µεταπτυχιακές σπουδές µε τίτλο “MA in Theatre: Devised Theatre” στο Dartington College of Arts (UK). Έχει βραβευτεί απο την ακαδηµαϊκή κοινότητα του Α.Π.Θ. µε το “Βραβείο Αριστείας – Διεθνείς Διακρίσεις Αποφοίτων”.
Έχει διατελέσει καλλιτεχνικός διευθυντής του ΔΗΠΕΘΕ Ιωαννίνων (2021-2023). Εργάζεται ως σκηνοθέτης, δραματουργός και καθηγητής υποκριτικής. Από το 2013 έως σήμερα διδάσκει σε δραματικές σχολές και ανά περιόδους στο Τμήμα Θεάτρου, ΑΠΘ (υποκριτική, κινησιολογία, αυτοσχεδιασμός). Το 2014 σχημάτισε με την Κορίνα Βασιλειάδου την καλλιτεχνική κολεκτίβα influx.
Θεατρικές δουλειές της ομάδας έχουν παρουσιαστεί στο ΚΘΒΕ, στο Εθνικό Θέατρο, στο Φεστιβάλ Αθηνών 2018, στο Διεθνές Φεστιβαλ Δηµητρίων, στο Διεθνές Φεστιβάλ Ίψεν, στη Volksbühne, στο Διεθνές Συνέδριο Ίψεν και στο Κέντρο Ελληνικών Σπουδών του Πανεπιστηµίου Χάρβαντ. Από το 2021 εισηγείται μεγάλης διάρκειας σεμινάρια με τίτλο “Σεμινάριο Θεάτρου Ντοκιμαντέρ: Η Σκηνοθεσία του Πραγματικού”. Έχει συνεργαστεί επίσης ως εισηγητής σε σεμινάρια σκηνοθεσίας/υποκριτικής με τους φορείς: Κρατικό θέατρο Ζένιτσας/ Βοσνία- Ερζεγοβίνη, Σχολείο Σκηνοθεσίας 2022 (ΔΗΠΕΘΕ Βέροιας), Θερινό Μαντείο 2022 (ΔΗΠΕΘΕ Ιωαννίνων), 7ο Εργαστήριο Αρχαίου Δράματος 2023 (ΔΗΠΕΘΕ Καβάλας). Σκηνοθεσίες του έχουν παρουσιαστεί στο Δημοτικό Θέατρο Πειραιά, στο ΔΗΠΕΘΕ Βέροιας, ΚΘΒΕ, Φεστιβάλ Δημητρίων. Επίσης σκηνοθετεί από το 2014 τις site specific παραστάσεις στα πλαίσια της διοργάνωσης «Θεσσαλονίκη Αλλιώς» σε συνεργασία με το ΚΘΒΕ.
Είναι υποψήφιος διδάκτορας του Τμήματος Θεάτρου (ΑΠΘ) με τίτλο έρευνας: «Όψεις του πολιτικού στο θέατρο ντοκουμέντο: Αναζητώντας τη “φαντασιακή θέσμιση της κοινωνίας” στη σύγχρονη δραματουργία». Τέλος, έχει συμμετάσχει με ανακοινώσεις σε διεθνή θεατρολογικά και πολιτικής φιλοσοφίας ακαδημαϊκά συνέδρια.
Autoethnography is a research and writing methodology that analyses personal experience in the interest of understanding cultural experience. We will discuss how to practice rigorous immersive ethnographic and autoethonographic writing that encourages you to participate in the communities about which you write and perform.
During this workshop we will also look at theories and sensibilities from creative writing and performance studies, which encourage self-reflection and narrative composition as part of their practice. We will also explore in detail guidelines for identifying subjects and techniques for creating informed sketches and images that can engage the theatre audience.
Finally, we will discuss what does it mean to decolonize autoethnography and what does it mean to interpret, know, and name personal and cultural experience from the standpoint of geo-politico-historic frames of post/ colonialism (Chawla and Atay, 2018).
BIO
Dr Elena Marchevska is a Professor in Artistic Research in the School of Arts and Creative Industries at London South Bank University.
She trained in theatre directing and works for two decades on the boundary between theatre, performance art and media. In her research, she is exploring the relationship between performance, politics of migration and environmental cultural studies. For over a decade, she is also working on researching maternal performance and children in performance.
She is co-editor of The Maternal in Creative Work: Intergenerational Discussions on Motherhood and Art (Routledge, 2019), and editor of The Displaced and Privilege: Live Art in Age of Hostility (Live Art Development Agency, 2017).
Elena is currently working on three new research projects: Making Mothers; a three-year collaborative interdisciplinary project with The British Library, funded by the Daphne Jackson Foundation and AHRC-England (2022-2025); “ ADAPT-AI” a Focal Doctoral consortium of three universities and six world-class venues, funded by UKRI and AHRC- England (2025-2030) and “Enhancing Kinaesthetic Empathy in Dance Audiences through XR Technology” , funded by SSHRC- Canada (2025-2027).
OMAGEMI is a game of chance.
Using conversation cards, it helps groups discuss dilemmas and explore the emotional landscapes that emerge from the use of medications in pregnancy. It’s about making collective knowledge visible, getting people talking across divides and hierarchies, and finding ways forward together when there is no perfect outcome.
This stimulating discussion game offers an opportunity to participate in a science/arts cross-discipline event, seeing familiar problems from a new perspective. The event was created by our company of artist-parents, some with experience of birth trauma, working in collaboration with clinician researchers.
OMAGEMI was developed by Francesca Dale, Tom Harris, Jon Lee, Cecilia Madanes, Elena Marchevska, Georgina Sowerby and Anne-Gaelle Thiriot.
BIO
Dr Elena Marchevska is a Professor in Artistic Research in the School of Arts and Creative Industries at London South Bank University.
She trained in theatre directing and works for two decades on the boundary between theatre, performance art and media. In her research, she is exploring the relationship between performance, politics of migration and environmental cultural studies. For over a decade, she is also working on researching maternal performance and children in performance.
She is co-editor of The Maternal in Creative Work: Intergenerational Discussions on Motherhood and Art (Routledge, 2019), and editor of The Displaced and Privilege: Live Art in Age of Hostility (Live Art Development Agency, 2017).
Elena is currently working on three new research projects: Making Mothers; a three-year collaborative interdisciplinary project with The British Library, funded by the Daphne Jackson Foundation and AHRC-England (2022-2025); “ ADAPT-AI” a Focal Doctoral consortium of three universities and six world-class venues, funded by UKRI and AHRC- England (2025-2030) and “Enhancing Kinaesthetic Empathy in Dance Audiences through XR Technology” , funded by SSHRC- Canada (2025-2027).
(The workshop will be held in Greek/Το εργαστήριο θα διεξαχθεί στα ελληνικά)
Τι ιστορίες φέρει ένας τόπος; Τι τεκμήρια κρύβονται στα σπλάχνα του; Πώς αυτά διασταυρώνονται με το παραστατικό γεγονός στη σφαίρα της τεκμηρίωσης και τι αφηγήσεις παράγουν; Σε αυτή τη διάλεξη – διαδραστική συνάντηση θα δοθούν εργαλεία και θα συζητηθούν μεθοδολογικές πρακτικές για τη συλλογή και επεξεργασία υλικού που σχετίζεται με έναν συγκεκριμένο τόπο προκειμένου να παραχθεί ένα έργο θεάτρου ντοκιμαντέρ. Αφού εξεταστούν παραδείγματα παραστάσεων στη διασταύρωση φυσικού χώρου και ντοκουμέντου, θα ανιχνευθούν δραματουργικές στρατηγικές που επιτρέπουν αυτήν τη διασταύρωση.
BIO
Η Παναγιώτα Κωνσταντινάκου είναι θεατρολόγος και δραματουργός, μέλος ΕΕΠ του Τμήματος Θεάτρου, ΑΠΘ.
Σπούδασε θέατρο στο Τμήμα Θεάτρου, ΑΠΘ και στα UKC και Glasgow University (UK). Ως δραματουργός έχει συνεργαστεί με δημόσια θέατρα και φεστιβάλ, ιδιωτικούς φορείς (Φεστιβάλ Αθηνών και Επιδαύρου, Εθνικό Θέατρο, Στέγη Γραμμάτων του Ιδρύματος Ωνάση, Θεάτρο Τέχνης, ΔΗ.ΠΕ.ΘΕ.), καθώς και με ανεξάρτητες θεατρικές ομάδες (Spectrum, Αντανακλάσεις, Grasshopper, Παπαλάνγκι, Blindspot και Δρώσα Τέχνη) σε παραστάσεις και πρότζεκτ των σκηνοθετών / σκηνοθετριών: Τ. Αγγελόπουλου, Α. Αζά, Σ. Βγενοπούλου, Η. Βογιατζηδάκη, Γ. Διδασκάλου, Α. Ευκλείδη, Ε. Ζαχαροπούλου, Ε. Θεοδώρου, Σ. Κορώνη, Μ. Κωνσταντάτου, Ε. Λυγίζου, Α. Λυκούρα, Μ. Πανάγου, Μ. Πανουργιά, Ν. Παπανδρέου, Π. Φλατσούση, Χ. Χατζηβασιλείου, Α. Χατζηλιάδου και Dries Verhoeven.
Έχει συντονίσει το ερευνητικό διακαλλιτεχνικό πρόγραμμα για το αρχαίο δράμα Πάροδος του Φεστιβάλ Αθηνών και Επιδαύρου (2022). Έχει επιμεληθεί και συν-γράψει τον τόμο Σκηνική Δραματουργία, που εκδόθηκε από το Εθνικό Θέατρο (2023). Διδάσκει επιπλέον στην Ανωτέρα Σχολή Δραματικής Τέχνης του Εθνικού Θεάτρου.
What are the tools we use as artists in the process of questioning reality, but also our perception of it?
What are the topics that interest us and why do we choose to bring them in the rehearsal room?
How does the research process shape the concept of the performance?
What are the ethics we have in mind when we collect personal stories, when we read documents from different archives?
How do we articulate our own perspective and our artistic language while dealing with real events and real people?
A performance inspired by research is always like a journey from reality to fiction and then back to reality. It opens a public process of understanding, in which the spectators are partners. That is why the artistic concept should include them from the beginning. While at the core of the documentary art is the concept of authenticity, what does this mean today, in a period when technology and propaganda are so linked in order to (re)create reality and its meaning? From performances that use ready-made documents and objects to mockumentaries and documentary fairy-tales are ways to react to a reality that is not so easy to grasp, sometimes more surreal than we could imagine.
BIO
Gianina Cărbunariu is a Romanian based director&playwright. She was the general director of Teatrul Tineretului and the curator of the International Festival in Piatra Neamț Romania (2017 – 2024). She is teaching directing at the University Babeș Bolyai Cluj, Faculty of Theatre.
For her fictional performances, she usually does research through interviews or studies different archives on topics concerning nowadays social and political subjects.
She collaborated with Romanian theatres, but also with other theater institutions in Europe such as Kammerspiele Theatre in Munich, Schauspiel in Stuttgart, Centro Dramatico Nacional in Madrid, Contemporary Theatre in Sczczecin (Poland), National Theatre in Bratislava, Teatro Delle Passioni in Modena.
In 2014, her performance Solitaritate (text and directing) was presented in the official selection of Avignon Festival. In 2016, the performance Tigern based on her text and produced at the Royal Dramatic of Stockholm was presented as well in the official selection of Avignon festival.
Her plays were translated in more than 20 languages and were produced by other directors in different theatres in Europe, USA, Canada etc. Kebab was produced by the Royal Court in London, in Schaubühne Berlin, Kammerspiele, Munich etc. Some of her plays are published by Actes Sud in France, Oberon Books in the UK or Theater der Zeit in Germany.
International festivals and tours: BOZAR (Bruxelles), Theatre de la Ville Paris, Wiener Festwochen, Trafo Center Budapest, International Festival in Liege, , HAU Berlin, London International Festival, Dialogue Wroclaw, Festival Theatres des Ameriques Montreal, New Plays from Europe Wiesbaden etc.
This workshop invites participants to explore the personal and social dimensions of what we choose to hide from others — the stories, objects, and memories we conceal to avoid judgment or rejection. Through the tools of documentary theatre, we will examine how these hidden elements, once shared, can become bridges of empathy and connection rather than sources of isolation.
The session begins with a simple yet revealing exercise: each participant will show what they carry in their wallet. Together, we will discuss which of these objects spark curiosity and why. From there, participants will be invited to share a personal story connected to one of the items.
In the final phase, small groups will transform their stories and objects into collective presentations — a visual collage or “vision board,” a sculptural tableau using their bodies, a performative protest banner, or another creative form that embodies shared experience.
The workshop encourages authenticity, vulnerability, and a recognition that our hidden things often reveal our deepest connections.
ΒΙΟS
Blagoy Boychev is an actor and director based in Sofia – Bulgaria. He graduated from the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia in 2009 with a degree in acting. He completed a specialization in directing and holds a master’s degree in philosophy from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski.”
In 2011, he co-founded the independent theater “Replica.” He has a strong interest in documentary theater and extensive experience as an actor and director of documentary performances. In 2014, together with the Replica Theater troupe, he won the Stoyan Kambarev Award for Excellence in the Arts.
For his performances “Kalunya Kalya”, “Hit of the Season,” “The Earth is Flat,” and “Love in the Oncoming Lane,” he has received awards in various categories, including for directing and best performance, from the MONODRAMA Festival in Gabrovo and the “Scene, Palette, Word” Festival in Plovdiv. He was nominated for an IKAR award for his role as Jürgen in “Hedda Gabler,” directed by Chris Sharkov.
Boryana Yovcheva is an actress born in Shumen, Bulgaria. She is a member of the Replica Theater, mother of three children, keen traveller and human rights activist. Boryana is a graduate from Krastyo Sarafov, National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts and she has also studied Acting for Drama Theatre. Some of her creative work includes: “Viva Bulgaria” performed at the Center for Contemporary Arts “Toplocentrala”, “The Christmas Tree at the Ivanovs,” a crime drama by A. Vvedensky, and “We Are the Trash of Eastern Europe,” an original performance by Georg Genoux and the actors of Replica Theater.
In the current climate of deep polarisation, our shared history often feels like a battleground of intersubjective realities. How can we move away from the hostile stand-off?
Can we negotiate multiple narratives and what would be the way to harmonise them? Why don’t we dare to embrace hopefulness as a political position?
Focusing on what are the stories that we tell, how we tell them and what genre we choose to tell them in, this workshop will explore the potential of devised comedy as a methodology for staging conflicting narratives, and as an instrument for conceiving a hopeful future.
BIO
Maja Milatović-Ovadia is a theatre director, facilitator and a lecturer. Originally from the former Yugoslavia and currently based in London, she has directed numerous projects across a variety of contexts, including devised work, classical and contemporary text-based theatre, music theatre, experimental opera, multimedia performances and socially engaged theatre practices. She studied Directing at the University of Belgrade (BA), obtained MA in Advance Theatre Practice from Royal School of Speech and Drama and further trained at the National Theatre Studio in London and Directors Lab West in Los Angeles.
Her socially engaged art projects focus on the use of comedy and humour within collaborative theatre practice. She has created a theatre with ethnically segregated communities in post-war Bosnia, migrants and refugees in London, as well as survivors of the Rwandan genocide.
In 2019, as part of Open University’s AHRC-funded project ‘Picturing Climate’, she developed a multimedia community art project and ran workshops on creative methodology, Transgressive Methodologies: Skills and Tools for Critical Learning at Tate Exchange event, Tate Modern. Her photo essay ‘Vanishing Line’, which documents this work, is included in Artistic Perspectives on Climate Change / PI2025. Additionally, her articles on theatre-making have been published in several theatre and peace-building journals.
Born in former Yugoslavia, Serbian director, performer, author, and lecturer Sanja Mitrović is widely recognised as a prominent voice in European documentary theatre and contemporary performance.
She graduated in Japanese language and literature from the University of Belgrade and in Physical Theatre from the Amsterdam University of the Arts. Since 2000, she has produced and collaborated on more than 40 theatre performances, video works, publications, and artistic actions.
In 2008, she founded Stand Up Tall Productions, a theatre production platform, where she continues to serve as artistic director.
In 2023, she obtained her Doctor in Arts degree at Vrije Universiteit Brussels and Royal Institute for Theatre, Cinema and Sound (RITCS). In 2025, she became Head of Drama Directing at RITCS and completed her postdoctoral studies in the arts. Sanja Mitrović’s artistic practice explores the intersections of memory, politics, and the body.
Grounded in documentary approaches, her work weaves together biographical narratives, historical archives, and social observation with physical performance and collective creation. She works with both professional and non-professional performers, and her work was co-produced by and presented at major international theatre festivals.