ALTERNATIVE THEATRE IN BELARUS IN THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION (FROM 1980S- THROUGH 2000S) The article was written in 2014 based on T. Arcimovich. Independent theatre in Belarus (1980–2013). In East European Performing Arts Dictionary. 2013 Introduce: context Today we could say that the phenomenon of ‘Belarusian theatre’ does not exist on the modern global theatrical map (repertoire as well as alternative). Some Belarusian performances attract attention at international festivals: for instance, Belarusian Free Theatre (independent project), the building theatre of Alaksiej Lialauski (Belarusian Puppet Theatre), InZhest Physical Theatre of Slava Inozemcev (independent project), the Russian-Belarusian project The Wedding by Anton Chekhov (National Academic Yanka Kupala Theatre), the performances of KorniagTheatre (independent project). Also Belarusian new drama or new writing (from 2000s; Nikolay Khalezin, Pavel Pryazhko, Dmitry Bogoslavsky, Konstantin Steshik and others) gets resonance (especially in Russian theatrical space). But these are rather exceptions that underline the absence of the phenomenon. There are around thirty theatre government spaces in Belarus; each has its own repertoire policy. Despite that, Belarusian repertoire theatre is a rather homogenous phenomenon, characterized mainly by ‘traditionalism’ or ‘academicism’ . This homogeneity is more than just a topic for discussion; it is a real problem. This problem is not so much related to the ‘lack of individualities’ as Belarusian official critics prefer to say. The reason for Belarusian theatres sudden return to the aesthetics of the official Soviet art of the 1970′s, taking place since the mid-1990′s, is obvious. The state is not interested in alternative, non-traditional forms of theatre, preferring to lead a specific cultural policy with a clear ideological set of rules. When we say ‘alternative theatre’ in the context of today’s Belarus, we should understand it from two perspectives. On the one hand, ‘alternative’ (or ‘independent’) means absolutely autonomous from the state, both in terms of finance (operating without the governmental support) and ideology (pursuing its own repertoire policy, operating beyond the framework of the contemporary Belarusian state ideology). A theatre company of this kind can either be overtly oppositional (Belarus Free Theatre) or refrain from expressing its civic position (KorniagTheatre, SKVO’s Dance Company, InZhest Physical Theatre). On the other hand, ‘alternative’ may be understood as different in terms of aesthetics and form. That is: using an experimental form which is uncommon in the context of state- controlled Belarusian theatre. (The notion of ʻexperimentalityʼ in this case is heavily context- dependent, because what has already become part of repertory theatre in the West still remains experimental in Belarus.) It is not uncommon that ʻalternative theatresʼ of this type, while standing