Europe As a Beautiful Mess: An Interview with Heidi Wiley, Executive Director of ETC

For 15 years now, Heidi Wiley has been Executive Director of the largest and most influential network of publicly funded theatres in Europe: The European Theatre Convention (ETC). Established in 1988, on the verge of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the network today stretches from Portugal to Georgia and from Malta to Norway, connecting 70 leading theatre institutions from 33 countries.

With degrees in cultural management from the Sorbonne (France) and Leuphana University (Germany), Heidi Wiley began her career as an international producer and tour manager for artists such as Victoria Chaplin and the British musical trio The Tiger Lillies. In 2009, she took over the leadership of ETC and contributed significantly to the growth and expansion of the network in many directions – in terms of number of members, range of activities and themes, intensity of artistic collaboration within the network and with external partners. Under her leadership, ETC also became a leading strategic partner of the European Commission.

Following the publication of its first major study on the Situation of Theatres in the EU Member States in 2020, the Commission decided to host its first live European Theatre Forum alongside the Spring ETC International Theatre Conference in 2023. As a result, the strategic document The Opole Recommendations was published, summarising the views of more than 200 European theatres on the changes needed for the good of the sector immediately and in the near future.

With the mounting number of examples of political interference in the artistic choices and the functioning of theatres across Europe, ETC recently co-initiated – together with other leading European networks – a series of open letters and appeals to various institutions and the European citizens, demanding the protection of artistic freedom.

The European Theatre Convention (ETC) it the largest network of publicly funded theatres in Europe. Why all of these influential institutions need to come and stay together in this format and what does the ETC membership give them, which they can’t do alone?
The European Theatre Convention (ETC) is an inherently European project. We continue to expand and welcome more theatres every year because we offer opportunities, resources and connections that extend beyond the possibilities in a purely national context. And importantly, we offer a vision of Europe, and European collaboration, that theatres want to invest in; for the benefit of their venue, staff, artistic programme and audiences. ETC Member theatres reach 25 million audience members every year, and together they make ground-breaking international productions; share learning on the latest techniques and practices; and ensure a unified voice for European Theatres on a policy level.

You have been leading the network since 2009. What are the major challenges and advances that you have witnessed in the span of these 15 years in terms policy-making and the role of the public theatres as institutions in Europe?
The period since 2009 has been very challenging for Europe. The world we live in has been changing at an unprecedented speed. Trying to successively face the consequences of the financial crash, the peak of migration in 2015, #metoo, terrorist attacks across Europe, the COVID-19 pandemic, the accelerated shift to digital, climate breakdown, war, rising nationalism and accelerating inequality can feel paralysing for any organisation, let alone a theatre. In policy discussions, we have by now come to use the term ‘polycrisis’ to describe the current moment, which refers to multiple crises taking place at the same time. Nonetheless, we are happy to see how public theatres have moved forwards, making clear progress in emphasising their shared values and principles on increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion. It is important that ETC members endorsed the ETC Diversity in Action Code in 2018, pledging for gender equality in our sector, and a public pledge in 2021 to become climate neutral by 2030. Theatres have become stronger advocates for accessibility, for the use of new technologies to reach wider audiences and facilitate intercultural exchange with local and international communities. When looking back, I can say that the challenges made us work closer together and define our shared values and principles, identifying us as a strong community of theatres in Europe, contributing with our visions to cultural policy and the future on European level. This did not exist 15 years ago.

And in terms of theatre-making practises, theatrical languages and aesthetics?
Some artists are inspired by the realities of the polycrisis world. We could say that boundaries between disciplines have blurred, with theatre increasingly merging with dance, music, film, and visual art. Yet the importance of language, acting and drama as core disciplines of theatre in Europe, embedded in a solid eco-system and a value chain that enables education, production and distribution, has been recognised too. Across Europe I believe we now have more platforms, such as festivals, research and support mechanisms to support and promote the uniqueness of European theatre. For example, in ETC we introduced various publication series to document and share the findings from pioneering trends and theatre practices that we saw evolving and as a result of concrete European collaborations. This includes ETC casebooks on Youth Theatre, Participatory Theatre, Digital Theatre – and soon one on Artistic Research in Theatre. Movements for inclusivity and decolonisation have brought diverse voices and perspectives to the forefront, seen for example in the sustainable large-scale European programme STAGES . We’re also reaching a ‘tipping point’ with regards to several key issues on stage: it is now common to question the excessive use of resources in production, given the realities of climate breakdown.

“We would like to express our growing concern over the increasing political intervention by governments in the work of cultural organisations across Europe.” – states the recently released “Call for Artistic Freedom and Autonomy of the Arts”, jointly prepared by four leading European networks: ETC, Culture Action Euroре, Performing Arts Employers Association League Europe and Opera Europa. For theatre-practitioners this might seem self-evident, but how would you explain to the more general audience why artistic autonomy is so vital, affects democratic health of society as a whole and should be an issue for all its members even if they are not theatre-goers?
When faced with these questions, I think it’s important to step back from theatre. Do we want to live in a world in which every creative decision – every text, every social media post, every word spoken on stage – requires prior approval? Where artistic freedom exists only to the extent that is not subversive or provocative? Where the decision to stage a play from 100 years ago could result in violence directed at artists? To me, this sounds like a horribly suffocating world. In my opinion, the ultimate goal for all of us, if we work in theatre or not, is to live a safe life in which we can express our opinions without fear of being punished. Creativity can be a beacon for social progress, a beautiful escape and vision of the future — particularly when national contexts threaten to drag us backwards. Theatre uses artistic means to promote critical thinking and empathy for others, in short: theatre helps to create an open and diverse society, in dialogue.

Two of the most striking and visible cases of political pressure are the recent events in Sofia, Bulgaria, when the audience members were physically prevented from entering the building of Ivan Vazov National Theatre by nationalistic groups, protesting against John Malkovich’s premiere of “The Arms and The Man”, as well as the firing of the General Manager of the Slovak National Theatre by the right-wing government. But what other forms of political pressure do theatres in Europe face, what are the tools used against them and why?
Prior to the EU elections, when researching the current climate in our sector, we came across a panel during Theatertreffen in May 2024, which became a key reference us for us about the sorts of political pressures faced by theatres. Director Amelie Deuflhard, from Kampnagel in Hamburg/Germany, gave examples of the methods used by right-wing groups and individuals to attack her theatre and her productions, ranging from ‘social media shitstorms’ to interruptions of performances and death threats. What was clear was that this was not ad-hoc, but rather a strategic approach to intimidation.

Most recently, ETC partnered with the internationally renowned artists Milo Rau & Artemis Vakianis (Directors, Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen | Free Republic of Vienna); and also Matej Drlička, the Dismissed Director Slovak National Theatre, Slovakia; Vasil Vasilev, General Director National Theatre Ivan Vazov; Serge Rangoni, General Director of Théâtre de Liège; and Karen Stone, General Director Opera Europa, to launch the cross-Europe campaign for artistic freedom, called RESISTANCE NOW: FREE CULTURE. This has had a huge impact, reaching more than 100 million readers through press stories in national radio, TV and newspapers in 25 countries; it led to a meeting with the Cabinet Office of the President of the European Parliament; and it is now aiming to introduce European legislation to create a ‘European Culture Freedom Act’, to protect artistic freedom on a European level.

Recent study by Culture Action Europe on the state of the cultural sector underlines the growing tendency of instrumentalization of culture for different goals and pinpoints the significant discrepancy between how the cultural sector sees its value in society and how the politicians perceived its role. Can this gap be bridged and do you think theatre institutions also have some misconceptions or blind spots about their own role and responsibilities in this global process?
The state of culture report by Culture Action Europe makes a compelling case for the reasons the cultural sector and policy makers differ in their understanding of the value of culture: policy makers want short-term, concrete outcomes for their money, while culture has deeper, broader and less easy to measure impacts. And in times of heightened public scrutiny and shrinking resources, cultural actors adapt themselves as much as possible to this instrumentalised view of culture. As a network, we do not believe that the two perspectives are so far removed. We have a firm belief that theatre can play a key role in democracy and social progress. And we also believe that deep and meaningful dialogue with the theatre sector can help policymakers develop useful and effective policy, that can support wider aims of economic growth and cultural cohesion.

For us in ETC, it is more and more apparent that the ongoing transformation of our globalised world has effects on our existing structures in culture, including funding and governance. It is important to recognise the need for reflection on how our sector can best accompany these changes while ensuring its own sustainability, and how the required transitions are best developed so that creative visions for society can still stir from within our unique publicly-funded sector. For this to work, we think it requires a long-lasting connection and commitment, which is something that the European sphere can add to national contexts, which often change more quickly. I think the main role of a theatre should be to make great art in dialogue with local communities, and it is perhaps the sum of these actions, rather than the action of any one organisation, that can best fulfil the goals of policy makers.

A leading trait of contemporary society is the division between firm, consolidated position pro- and anti- and we all admit that a dialogue in between the “bubbles” we all fall into inevitably is urgently needed. Namely the dialogue is a key element and strength of theatre. So how can European public theatres contribute to restoring the dialogue in society, even with those of its members with whom their management and teams might entirely disagree but whose right of having a different opinion is nonetheless essential for democratic culture?
For us, Europe is a beautiful mess. It’s 50 countries, 220 indigenous languages, and 750 million people. While income inequality, censorship, a resurgent far right and poisonous public debate lead many people to believe that they can only live well at the expense of others, we also believe that theatres are ideal places to bring people from different backgrounds together in a productive and peaceful way. They are spaces to be provoked, offended, understood, and empowered, as we process the factors that would turn us towards frenzied confrontation. Their capacity for humour, wonder and imagination connects us on an emotional level – the antidote to drab newscasts and demagoguery that tears society apart. Theatres are well-versed in hosting discussion events and doing this on topics that some audience members would reject out of hand. Expertise already exists in the sector, so perhaps we don’t need to look so far afield to find answers.

What is next for ETC?
We will keep pushing for a European Culture Freedom Act, by working with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and European policy-makers. And we will work on our exciting new policy proposals, such as a European Theatre Prize to raise the profile of the artworks and colleagues in our sector. The Opole Recommendations build a very solid foundation for theatre to lobby with a seat at the European cultural table, and we want to make sure this remains.

And last but not least, we are very grateful to the European Union for co-funding our most recent programme of activities, European Theatre: BREAK THE MOULD. This will allow ETC to offer theatres in Europe the means to experiment, collaborate and create lasting relations in important areas such as Sustainable Theatre, Digital Theatre, Diversity in Theatre, or the Next Theatre Generation and simply European Theatre. It is essential for us to keep Europe connected, visible and relevant. In a polycrisis world, we will keep pushing for polysolutions.

The interview was originally published at New Dramaturgies Contemporary Performing Arts Platform.