Beton Ltd.: A Case Study

• Main Author: Branko Jordan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television of the University of Ljubljana 2021-07-01
• Series: Amfiteater
• Subjects: beton ltd.; katarina stegnar; primož bezjak; branko jordan; betontanc; matjaž pograjc; bunker; anton podbevšek theatre; collective
• Online Access: https://www.slogi.si/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Amfiteater_9_1_RAZ_06_Jordan_EN.pdf

The paper focuses on Beton Ltd., a theatre collective comprised of three actors, Primož Bezjak, Branko Jordan and Katarina Stegnar, established in 2010. Beton Ltd. emerged on the Slovenian performing arts scene with a collective approach to theatre-making and is thus a special case as far as non-hierarchical and collective production models in Slovenia are concerned. In the last ten years, Beton Ltd. has created seven performances: So Far Away: Introduction to Ego-logy (2010); I Say What I am Told to Say (2012); Everything We’ve Lost, While We’ve Gone on Living (2013); Revolting Man (2014); Ich kann nicht anders (2016); Große Erwartungen/Great Expectations (2018) and Mahlzeit (2019). Through introspective self-analysis, the paper elaborates on the necessary preconditions for the formation of a collective, as well as the conditions necessary for effective collaboration in performance making, combining a short historical overview of the case in question, including specific collaborative strategies developed by Beton Ltd. during the past decade.