The Sarajevo War Theatre (Sarajevski ratni teatar, SARTR) was founded on 17 May 1992 on the initiative of Dubravko Bibanović, Gradimir Gojer, Đorđe Mačkić and Safet Plakalo.
Actors and associates of the three existing professional theatres in Sarajevo, which had ceased all activities at the beginning of the Bosnian war, gathered around SARTR and proceeded to give some 2,000 performances during the four years of siege. In January 1993, SARTR was officially recognised by the Sarajevo City Assembly as a public institution of special significance for the defence of Sarajevo. Its spiritus movens and director, Safet Plakalo, has often spoken of SARTR as Sarajevo's spiritual weapon against the surrealism of war, summarising its charter in the catch-cry 'theatre against death'. Despite limited resources, SARTR is today a successful professional theatre company with a number of international co-productions, appearances and awards under its belt.
Famous quotes containing the words war and/or theatre:
“... the ... radio station played a Chopin polonaise. On all the following days news bulletins were prefaced by Chopin—preludes, etudes, waltzes, mazurkas. The war became for me a victory, known in advance, Chopin over Hitler.”
—Margaret Anderson (1886–1973)
“... in the happy laughter of a theatre audience one can get the most immediate and numerically impressive guarantee that there is nothing in one’s mind which is not familiar to the mass of persons living at the time.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)