Contemporary Slovenian Bilingual and Multilingual Theatre in the Context of Carinthia

Abstract

For many years, bilingual and multilingual practices have been one of the distinctivefeatures of contemporary theatre work by the Slovenian minority in Carinthia. Morerecently, they can also be observed in the productions of other Carinthian theatres,both non-institutional and institutional, with which actors from minority backgroundsrepeatedly collaborate. Some have (co-)founded new bilingual and multilingual theatrestructures within or outside this environment. Others are working simultaneously to agreater or lesser extent in theatres in the wider German and Slovenian language area andelsewhere, including in the fields of directing, choreography, acting, set design and theatremusic, as well as in television and film productions. Given that these phenomena have notyet been systematically explored in detail, the article outlines the contemporary Slovenianbilingual and multilingual theatre scene in Carinthia, its structures, activities and stagingpractices. Based on the current range of the manifold activities, it also addresses thequestion of how to conceptually encompass these diverse practices.