The European Theatre Convention (ETC) concluded its ETC International Theatre Conference at the National Theatre of Greece/Athens this weekend with a significant step in the fight for democracy and artistic freedom.
The RESISTANCE NOW TOGETHER campaign invites creatives to join and make visible the many events and actions on resistance and art across Europe—and the enduring relevance of theatre in the context of increasing political pressure and attacks on cultural autonomy.
By presenting a united front, the campaign empowers cultural organisations from all disciplines to stand together in response to rising nationalism and political interference—and to establish a ‘European Culture Freedom Act’, to protect freedom of cultural expression in Europe.
Events and Manifesto
The RESISTANCE NOW TOGETHER campaign builds on the success of an open letter to European politicians in Winter 2024, which reached 100.000.000 readers through publications in 26 countries.
It lists key upcoming events on resistance, including the Open Culture! Conference from 29-30 May 2025, and a Café des Idées event and the annual European Theatre Talks at the Festival d’Avignon, on 08 and 09 July 2025 respectively, to spread the RESISTANCE NOW TOGETHER campaign further and reach policymakers.
RESISTANCE NOW TOGETHER has also been launched by co-initiator and new ETC Member Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna/Austria, and is supported by a new RESISTANCE NOW TOGETHER Manifesto, signed by the more than 75 major publicly-funded theatres that are members of the European Theatre Convention (ETC).
High-level Conference
RESISTANCE NOW TOGETHER was launched at the National Theatre of Greece during the ETC International Theatre Conference, THRIVE THEATRE THRIVE! Keep the Flame Alive, which took place from 03-07 April 2025 alongside the International Theatre Critics meeting and the National Theatre of Greece Showcase, which gathered over 200 senior theatre professionals from 50 countries.
Interventions from speakers included Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Center for Civil Liberties; Argyro Chioti, Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Greece; Milo Rau, Artistic Director of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna; Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, President of the International Association of Theatre Critics (AICT-IATC); Katerina Evangelatos, Artistic Director of Athens Epidaurus Festival; Savas Patsalidis, Editor-in-Chief of Critical Stages/Scènes Critiques; Cláudia Belchior, President of the European Theatre Convention & General Artistic Coordinator, Centro Cultural de Belem; and Heidi Wiley, Executive Director of the European Theatre Convention (ETC).
Together, they stressed the collective vision of European theatre as a space for open dialogue artistic excellence, new partnerships, and creative resistance against censorship and political interference.
ETC Membership Expands
During conference, ETC also welcome 10 new member organisations to its growing network, which now boasts more than 75 members from 33 countries.
The new members are:
- Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna (Austria)
- Croatian National Theatre 'Ivan Pl. Zajc' Rijeka Rijeka/Croatia
- Örkény István Theatre, Budapest/Hungary
- Teatro Nazionale di Genova, Genova/Italy
- Macedonian National Theatre, Skopje/North Macedonia
- Andrei Muresanu Theatre Sfântu Gheorghe/Romania
- Chaillot - Théâtre national de la Danse, Paris/France
- Masca Theatre, Bucharest/Romania
- National Theatre of Northern Greece, Thessaloniki/Greece
- Maria Zankovetska National Academic Ukrainian Drama Theater, Lviv/Ukraine
Speaking about the conference at the National Theatre of Greece, Heidi Wiley, ETC Executive Director, stated: “Our conference here at the National Theatre of Greece in Athens, the cradle of theatre and democracy, sends out strong signals to Europe and the world. Together, we have three major strengths to make the power of theatre visible: the power of words, our network, and our common values. The new Resistance Now Together campaign embodies these three strengths and we will use this in dialogue with European politicians on their mission to protect free culture and theatre for the next decades to come.”
Argyro Chioti, Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Greece, added: “Hosting the ETC Conference at such a pivotal moment has been an honour. It reaffirms the National Theatre of Greece’s commitment to fostering European collaboration and cultural dialogue. Now, more than ever, we must stand together in solidarity to protect artistic expression and champion creative freedom.”
Claudia Belchior, President of the European Theatre Convention (ETC), “As a community and as ETC members, we will not apologise for being political; we will not be neutral in the face of oppression. We will protect the space for complexity, contradiction, imagination, and dissent. Because that is what theatre has always been — and must always be. This is not a time for caution. This is a time for courage. This is a time to remind the world that theatre is not a luxury — it is a necessity.”
Main image: Performance by students at the Drama School of the National Theatre - Irini Papa during the ETC Conference (c) Apostolis Kousianikoulis
Contact
Christy Romer, ETC Communication Manager
About ETC
Founded in 1988, the European Theatre Convention (ETC) is the largest network of public theatres in Europe. It is an arts organisation that promotes European theatre as a vital platform for dialogue, democracy and interaction that responds to, reflects and engages with today’s diverse audiences and changing societies. ETC’s programme of grants and events support networking, professional development and artistic collaborations for theatre staff across Europe — championing theatre as a key European art form for the 21st century.
ETC has more than 75 members from 33 countries and is supported by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
