Theatre as the machinery of political propaganda

In this article I try to examine the role of the theatre in serving the political propaganda, using the example of Lift: The Slobodan Show, produced by the People’s Theatre of Prishtina (Narodno Pozoriste Pristina), “temporarily relocated in Belgrade”, an agit-prop show that attempts to revise history, and to rehabilitate Milošević’s criminal past. I also describe how difficult the cultural struggle in Serbia is for artists from the “other camp,” those who take a liberal approach and who are critical of war and chauvinist politics. I conclude that the social and political stability of the Balkan troubled region relies on the intensification of cultural exchange, the installation of a critical mindset towards the past and the present, and eventually, the arrival of new, more open-minded, progressive, and emancipated political classes. But I argue that changing the future course of the region is still deeply linked to Serbia. Because just as it has been a source and exporter of crises, Serbia is also the key potential source for eventual peace and prosperity in the region.