‘Shame - ARTiSHOCK theatre (Kazakhstan)’

ARTiSHOCK theatre brings contemporary, independent theatre from Kazakhstan. Their edgy performances mix improvisation and interactive elements with pantomime and traditional theatre. ARTiSHOCK was founded in 2001 and has already won a variety of awards at theatre festivals in Europe, Russia and Central Asia. Their new performance, based on a text by the Ukrainian author Natalia Vorozhbyt, tells the recent history of contemporary Kazakhstan on a personal scale. Tensions in Kazakhstani society are just like those in many other post-Soviet states. This critical documentary performance shows how the ‘culture of shame’ dominates and blocks the way for subjects such as women’s rights, sexuality, the right to education and freedom of speech.