Uniting Europe in an Age of Fracture

Heidi Wiley*

Abstract

In an era marked by division, and ongoing crises, from climate collapse to cultural censorship, the European Theatre Convention (ETC) champions theatre as a unifying force for empathy, dialogue, and social resilience. Executive Director Heidi Wiley outlines ETC’s work across Europe on digital innovation, sustainability, diversity, and youth empowerment—co-funded by the EU—and flagship initiatives like BREAK THE MOULD and events such as the “European Theatre Talks,” which support ETC to foster cross-border collaboration, artistic freedom, and civic engagement. As theatres face rising challenges, she reflects on how theatres have made positive change in connecting communities, and how further European support can help sustain these benefits across the continent.

Keywords: ETC, Creative Europe, cross-border, international collaboration

Every day, on my way to and from the ETC Office at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin, I ride my bike through the Brandenburg Gate. I do this alongside thousands of others, also on their way to work, or see family, or visit the sights. But this seemingly small action lifts my spirit, reminding me of the historic moments we’ve lived through, and how people can unite to change the course of a life. It was, after all, impossible for anyone to cross through the gate until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

This possibility for dramatic change is something I carry with me as Executive Director of the European Theatre Convention (ETC), the network for publicly-funded theatres in Europe. Travelling through Europe from West to East, from the North to the South, it’s clear that theatre does not exist in a vacuum. The challenges faced by many Europeans – rising rents, exploding inequality, concern about Artificial Intelligence, general paralysis in the face of multiple social crises– echo across theatre and on theatre stages. This compounds with falling public subsidies and a growing climate of fear, as geopolitics slides further towards war, and political interference in artistic freedom becomes increasingly common.

I see our role as working alongside this potential for fracture and supporting theatres to make work and connections that bring society closer together. We support theatre professionals as they make aesthetic work that reflects, stretches and creates dialogue between local communities and international colleagues, offering a way of thinking that teaches us to inhabit another’s experience without erasing our own. At its best, theatre creates temporary communities where people gather not to be agreed with, but to be moved, provoked, and unsettled. It offers a binding force—not through consensus, but through a renewed commitment to dialogue, to being together.

ETC Approach

ETC’s work across Europe is based on this principle of cross-border, cross-society understanding. Practically, it is delivered through the ETC Vision 2030, and our current 4-year project co-funded by the European Union, called “European Theatre: BREAK THE MOULD” (or BTM for short). I consider this regular funding and support for the coming years an anchor in a time of instability, and we designed our BTM project in five key theatre programmes:

ETC’s Digital Theatre Programme: supporting ETC theatres to develop new digital productions, or experiment with the latest digital theatre tools.
ETC’s Sustainable Theatre Programme: using grants, mentoring and the ETC Theatre Green Book to drive the ETC Membership and wider theatre sector towards net zero emissions by 2030
ETC’s Next Theatre Generation Programme: supporting young theatre artists to establish a career across Europe after finishing their studies.
ETC’s European Theatre Programme: serving as the collective voice in Europe and beyond, and in addressing EU cultural policy through events like the “European Theatre Talks” during the Festival d’Avignon
ETC’s Diversity in Theatre Programme: building organisations and productions that reflect the diversity of local communities across Europe, such as the Young Europe V programme in creating class-room performances for schools.

The five programmes in BTM are designed to help theatres across Europe build resilience, even while changes in society threaten to pull theatre further apart. These are topics that we explore and question during regular meetings, such as the regular ETC International Theatre Conferences. At the last conference, in Athens in April 2025, we wanted to send out strong signals to our communities, to Europe and the world, that it’s clear that there is lots to be proud of in European theatre. Collectively, we have decades of experience in building an open and strong cultural sector. We have one of the most well-equipped theatre infrastructures and eco-systems in the world, from education to creation and dissemination. And we have the public support from the European Union to navigate with confidence through these harsh times.

Heidi Wiley (L) in audience for Young Europe IV performance. Photo: Sasa Mrak and David Verlic

In particular, I see 3 strengths to lean on.

The first is the power of words and learning from each other to debate and share our knowledge and our convictions, within our artistic means and our means on the public stage.
Secondly, the role of international collaboration and exchange, in which we work together with belief in the power of forging allies and building trustworthy relations through concrete joint work.
And thirdly, our shared values, which are the basis to defend free culture in Europe.

These ETC conferences are important moments to take stock, a moment to step away from the daily routine in one’s venue, in one’s country, to look at your issues from a macro, a European perspective. And to be reminded that there is another reality that connects us and makes us a strong community of theatre makers across the continent, and while being in Athens – across the globe, as we were joined by many theatre professionals from outside Europe. Through discussions, we considered the types of leadership and working conditions needed in theatre; the relationship theatres should develop with diverse audiences and the next generation, and how to remain accessible and sustainable organisations that make artistic work and are a source of wellbeing for community and for society. And the end result was a manifesto, RESISTANCE NOW TOGETHER, which stressed the unifying power of culture, and invited and mobilised artists, venues, festivals and civil society to help European politicians on their mission to protect free culture and the theatre for decades to come.

ETC Conference in Athens (April 2025). Participants in front of the National Theatre’s Drama School. Photo: Apostolis Kousianikoulis

Areas of Impact

It is fundamental to protect the freedom of culture and theatre, because it is much more than entertainment. It is human connection in its most powerful form, which can have significant social benefits. As society rapidly changes, and divides, researchers state the spread of a new silent pandemic: loneliness. Well-documented research has found that the impact of loneliness is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, due to the negative impacts of feeling unseen, unheard, disconnected.

*Gutz* by Teatru Malta – Young Europe IV. Photo: Sasa Mrak and David Verlic

In Germany, a national strategy was launched in 2023 to combat loneliness. One of its main findings was that “people need more accessible places to meet.” We believe that theatres are exactly that. We have seen how ETC Members have launched programmes to unite audiences and individuals from Scotland to the Czech Republic to Germany.

For instance, the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh invited audience members that had become widows to attend shows together and share tea afterwards, breaking down barriers caused by loneliness.

Sustainable Performance *One More Minute* by the NT Prague. Photo: Petr Neubert

The National Theatre in Prague developed a programme to call individuals at their home during lockdown, performing short pieces over the phone – a lifeline of human warmth and imagination. In Brussels, we’ve seen actors from the National Theatre perform live in old people’s homes. In Berlin, at the Deutsches Theater, where ETC is based, social engagements and participatory work are part of the regular artistic programme for people of all ages, including joint warmups before a show, or attending workshops and school camps.

These examples show the deeply communal roots for theatre. It can address isolation, and also build understanding between generations, address bullying, or even communicate scientific or health information in ways that reach people emotionally, not just intellectually. It creates spaces where people can meet, feel, belong.

Heidi Wiley (L) on the stage of the National Theatre in Athens: ETC Conference opening day (April 3, 2025). Photo: Apostolis Kousianikoulis

Impact

Recognising the power of theatre across these many fields, as a network we have implemented initiatives that make considerable progress on social innovation, digital developments, environmental sustainability, and securing space for the next generation of artists. Yet of course we also see a lot of areas where continuous work and resources need to be invested in. Let me illustrate this challenge based on our observation and the programmes we put in place.

Over half of the ETC membership, which collectively reaches an estimated 25 million audience members per year, has taken important steps on the journey towards net zero emissions. Our partnership with Renew Culture and the implementation of the ETC Theatre Green Book shows the readiness of theatres to lead by example in addressing the climate emergency.

Our annual events at the Festival d’Avignon, including the European Theatre Academy, support the next generation to tackle these questions. A combination of mentoring and masterclasses from high-profile artists and cultural professionals for 15 emerging artists each year helps to forge connections on the European level. We are always interested to create synergies to increase access to our work. In having created a public event at the Festival d’Avignon called the “European Theatre Talks,” we invite European policy makers to consult with us as a sector, in dialogue. The 2025 edition, called “Freedom, Democracy and New Voices,” will focus on the steps that policy makers and institutions should take to protect and promote emerging artists across Europe, with a close focus on the Prospero NEW platform and the Fabulamundi – NEW VOICES European projects, and the publication of learning from the Fabulamundi project, the ETC casebooks. The “European Theatre Talks” will also carry a key focus on artistic freedom and the global campaign for art and democracy, RESISTANCE NOW TOGETHER.

Performance by the Drama School of the NT of Greece during the ETC proceedings in Athens (April 2005). Photo: Apostolis Kousianikoulis

We have advocated for more inclusive accessibility and diversity across all levels of theatre practice and governance; experts estimate that more accessible theatre can expand audiences by 15%, This means being physically accessible, with changes made to historic buildings, signage and websites where necessary to ensure that people living with disabilities are not closed out from attending performances. It also means ensuring that people with disabilities are present on stage, in the stories told by the theatres, and in the structures and managements leading theatres. There are areas to work on here – there is currently guidance and schemes for artists with disabilities, and for disabled audiences, but less support for theatres in how to integrate accessibility across their organisation and across their programming.

ETC Conference in Prague – Panel Discussion. Photo: Jan Hromadko

Dialogue with the Commission

To enact these developments, the European Theatre sector need solidarity, imagination, and structural investment. ETC set out these concerns for the future in its contribution to the European Commission’s consultation on the Culture Compass initiative, created by Commissioner for Culture Glenn Micallef, who recently opened direct dialogue with ETC through a personal visit in May 2025.

First, the distinct model of publicly funded theatre—a cornerstone of Europe’s democratic and cultural ecosystem—requires recognition, safeguarding and renewed investment. Europe has a globally unique public support system to nourish the arts and culture and we must make sure this remains part of our innovation. From education to production and dissemination, the entire pipeline must be supported to remain relevant in an accelerating world. Europe needs a strategic theatre policy that values theatres as both artform and civic space.
Second, artistic freedom is increasingly under threat, and protections are needed to ensure cultural work can cross borders freely, even as digital transformations reshape the sector.
Third, the financial foundations must be secured. A commitment of at least 2% of the EU budget to culture, along with a stronger Creative Europe programme, would give artists and organisations the means to innovate and build a shared European identity
Fourth, culture’s role in democracy and wellbeing must be publicly celebrated, helping Europeans to restore pride and connection through culture, creating a strong sense of belonging and identity and hence contribute to resilience.
Finally, the shift towards ethical, European-led communication channels is essential. Theatres must not be left behind in the digital sphere, but empowered to lead with values rooted in freedom, plurality, and community.

*CapturedBodies* by ArtesMobiles. Photo: Birgit Hupfeld

The Quest for Truth

Looking forwards, we believe there is space for greater collaboration between journalists and theatres, in helping to bring news stories to life, and to place them in front of new audiences. We have seen how effective this can be: Geheimplan gegen Deutschland, a production by Director Kay Voges in collaboration with the investigative journalist outfit CORRECTIV, accelerated a news story of the same name about the far-right’s secret plans to expel millions of people from Germany. Through performances and screenings, the theatre production reached 1.5 million spectators and was a catalyst for the biggest protests in German post-war history. There is clearly space for doing more with journalists and theatres across Europe, and by helping everyone to understand society’s complexity, theatre can help citizens to address key social issues.

This concept of competing truths is a concept that we are exploring in our upcoming ETC International Theatre Conference, from 05-09 November 2025, at Dailes Theatre in Riga/Latvia. As an overarching question, this conference asks: Can theatres decide their own narrative?

Titled Stage for Truth. Which Truth, the conference comes as global politics slides towards hostility and conflict, and cuts to culture budgets are proposed to increase spending on defence. We see that terms like “nationalism” and “duty” have re-entered public debate, while demagogue leaders dismiss plans for inclusion and equality as “divisive” and “political.” Through this meeting, we invite attendees to reflect on the role for European theatres in understanding and addressing the conflicting “truths” across society, such as:

Nationalism is a reasonable agenda Vs nationalism is dangerous and divisive
Artistic freedom is an inalienable right Vs artists must serve the national interest
Theatres are a centre for resilience and social cohesion Vs theatre is an altar of elite talent
There is good propaganda Vs There is only bad propaganda

ETC members have drastically different local contexts: parts of Europe have creeping desertification and water shortages, while others live in natural abundance. Parts of Europe have learned to live alongside the growing threat of war, while others see war as an issue building further away. Questions of making progress on these questions will also be addressed in accompanying events during our Riga conference, the Final STAGES Forum, and the Latvian Theatre Showcase.

With Europe’s Help

Evidently, for progress on these topics across the whole continent, no single organisation can act alone. There must be support for knowledge-sharing and coordination.

This is where the European Commission must continue to play a key role. By prioritising culture as a pillar of social cohesion, and providing stable funding towards the cultural sector, with the continuation of a stand-alone financial support programme such as Creative Europe, theatres and theatre networks can survive and collaborate. We think support for further exploration of the topics above, and to embrace the progress in implementing the ETC Theatre Green Book, pursuing gender parity, and nurturing the next generation of diverse talent, are essential steps to ensure both financial and environmental sustainability. Policymakers need to pay attention to campaigns like Resistance Now Together and enshrine a European Artistic Freedom Act in law.

Europe’s theatres are already trying to write a narrative of renewal from the page of fragmentation. This explicitly ties our mission to integration – bringing new artists and communities into conversation – and to preparing theatres for digital and ecological change.

In conclusion, as I reflect on the enduring power of theatre across Europe, I think fondly of Das neue Leben. Where Do We Go from Here, which offers a deeply moving response to the fractured condition of contemporary society. Drawing on Dante and shaped by the experiences of a post-pandemic world, Christopher Rüping’s production was staged at the opening of the first in-person Theatertreffen festival after the pandemic and is a pure ode to love and live, to the human spirit’s capacity for renewal.

What makes this play so resonant is its refusal to reduce life to binaries. Instead, it honours contradiction: grief and celebration, intimacy and distance, memory and hope. In a time when we have been physically and emotionally separated, the play stitches us back together—not through narrative resolution, but through shared feeling, through tenderness.

Will it be enough to navigate through our harsh times of multi-crisis? I don’t know, but it certainly doesn’t leave us powerless. And leaves theatre well placed, not just when walking 10 minutes from the ETC office in Deutsche Theatre to the European House in Berlin, next to the Brandenburger Gate, on the days I am without my bike.

*Heidi Wiley has been Executive Director of the European Theatre Convention (ETC) since 2009. Under her leadership, ETC has become an established European cultural network with an international programme of artistic collaboration, professional development and advocacy for Europe’s public theatres, spanning over 30 countries. She led ETC to become a strategic partner of the European Commission and the recipient of several prestigious prizes, including the 2022 Art Explora – Académie des Beaux-Arts European Award for innovation in access to culture; and European prizes for outstanding achievement in the fields of audience development and cultural heritage. Heidi started her career as international producer and touring manager for artists Victoria Chaplin and the Tiger Lillies. A studied cultural manager with degrees from La Sorbonne and Leuphana University, she lived and worked over the last 25 years in the UK, US, France and Germany.