Sep 15, 2024
Belarus Free Theater will soon present a new play "KS6: Small Forward"
“One of the bravest and most inspired underground troupes on the planet.” – NY Times
KS6: SMALL FORWARD – a searing production about an Olympic athlete and women’s basketball star, the first and only popular sports figure in the history of Belarus to have openly come out as gay, and who now lives in exile as an outspoken, frontline activist against the dictatorship in her native country.
Based on conversations with the basketball star Katsiaryna (Katya) Snytsina, a rock star in European sports and one of the greatest competitors in Belarusian sports history, KS6: SMALL FORWARD is adapted for the stage and directed by BFT’s co-founders Nicolai Khalezin and Natalia Kaliada. Described as a ‘duologue,’ SMALL FORWARD is performed in BFT’s iconoclastic, expressionistic style by Katya Snytsina in tandem with the rising clubland star, DJ Blanka Barbara.
Under the leadership of Khalezin and Kaliada, Belarus Free Theater has been creating and performing new work for almost 20 years, and has been described as “one of the bravest and most inspired underground troupes on the planet,” (Ben Brantley, NY Times).
With the electrifying energy of an edge-of-your-seat basketball match, KS6: SMALL FORWARD depicts Katya Snytsina’s bravery and determination as a sports phenomenon who experienced tremendous highs and crushing lows while smashing sporting records, stood up to dictators in the wake of widespread protests in Belarus in 2020, and came out as a lesbian when she fell in love with a longtime BFT company member – all in short order, propelling her instantly into the international spotlight as a leading dissident against authoritarianism.
Katya states, “In basketball my team is 12-strong; now I’m part of a far bigger team on the frontlines of the fight against dictatorship.”
The 6 ft. 2 in., 39-year-old basketball small forward was part of the Belarusian team that won a bronze medal at the 2007 European Championships and placed sixth in the 2008 Olympic Games.
Natalia Kaliada notes, “To be free, you need to be brave. This is exactly what we found in Katya’s story: a woman who stood up against the dictatorship and stepped down from the national basketball team in solidarity with the Belarusian people and against violence. On the court, she played ‘small forward,’ defending, scoring, creating open lanes and rebounding for the whole team. Katya’s story helped us realize that ‘small forward’ is a way of being free.”
KS6: SMALL FORWARD has set design by Nicolai Khalezin, light design by Peter Small, video design by Dmytro Guk, choreography by Joseph Toonga, and sound design and original music by DJ Blanka Barbara. The play is performed by Katsiaryna Snytsina, Blanka Barbara, Darya Andreyanova, Mikalai Kuprych and Raman Shytsko.
Established in 2005, BELARUS FREE THEATER (BFT) spent years performing only in secret to escape political censorship. The company was exiled from Belarus in 2021 after publicly opposing the regime of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, and now performs at venues worldwide without a permanent home.
OCTOBER 18 - BOSTON - BERKLEE PERFORMANCE CENTRE
OCTOBER 21 - WASHINGTON - LISNER AUDITORIUM
NOVEMBER 1 - CHICAGO - STUDEBAKER THEATRE
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