Contemporary Slovenian Bilingual and Multilingual Theatre in the Context of Carinthia

Abstract

For many years, bilingual and multilingual practices have been one of the distinctive features of contemporary theatre work by the Slovenian minority in Carinthia. More recently, they can also be observed in the productions of other Carinthian theatres, both non-institutional and institutional, with which actors from minority backgrounds repeatedly collaborate. Some have (co-)founded new bilingual and multilingual theatre structures within or outside this environment. Others are working simultaneously to a greater or lesser extent in theatres in the wider German and Slovenian language area and elsewhere, including in the fields of directing, choreography, acting, set design and theatre music, as well as in television and film productions. Given that these phenomena have not yet been systematically explored in detail, the article outlines the contemporary Slovenian bilingual and multilingual theatre scene in Carinthia, its structures, activities and staging practices. Based on the current range of the manifold activities, it also addresses the question of how to conceptually encompass these diverse practices.

Keywords

• theatre studies
• carinthian slovenians
• multilingualism
• theatre practices
• theatre actors