On November 12, Kazakhstan’s lower chamber of Parliament, voted to pass a series of legislative amendments introducing a sweeping ban on the dissemination of information about “non-traditional” sexual orientations.
The amendments, more commonly known as the “anti-LGBT propaganda” legislation, will restrict media figures, educators, and social media users from writing, lecturing, or posting propaganda relating to “pedophilia and/or non-traditonal sexual orientations.”
Lawmakers say the amendments were introduced to protect children and teenagers from harmful content. But the law’s broad definition will likely affect a wide range of artistic expression, and has been roundly condemned by international human rights groups.
Anastassiya Tarassova, managing director of the Artishock Theater company, spoke to Vlast about the legislation’s vague wording, the rising threat of censorship, and the re-emergence of denunciations in Kazakhstan.
Inside Artishock Theater. Photo by Mariya Gordeyeva.
How do you feel about the prospective ban on “LGBT propaganda” in Kazakhstan?
I’m in a kind of state of silent acceptance, probably because it feels like there’s nothing that can be done to change it. I haven’t even been discussing it that much, because it feels like it's already happened. I see some media coverage, but it’s still not enough to stop this law from being passed, or prevent the President [Kassym-Jomart Tokayev - ed.] from signing it. I’ve read and re-read these amendments and understand that if they are adopted, any mention of “non-traditional sexual orientation” will undoubtedly be considered propaganda.
Raziya Khasanova, director of the Interius Theater, wrote on her Instagram account that, due to the amendments under consideration, they will not be able to show the play Kinderwoods because it’s about a family in which the parents were unable to accept their child’s homosexuality.
Does Artishock have any productions that could fall under the definition of “propaganda”?
Yes, I think so. While state-owned theaters are effectively immune from these restrictions because of their self-censorship, these amendments will directly affect us as independent artists, because we choose our own themes. We work with contemporary drama, literature, and film. And contemporary art inevitably features characters who have experienced different sexualities or who face situations related to their orientation—their acceptance or rejection.
This is truly a significant topic when we talk about people. Because theater is an institution that studies people. Any independent theater will undoubtedly explore a broad range of topics. As long as no one draws any boundaries on what you can touch, you can address the most unpopular topics. Now, it seems like a specific topic is simply being canceled. Until now, theaters like Interius and ourselves had enjoyed a certain creative freedom.
A scene from Auezhai. Photo courtesy of Artishock Theater.
We have a very popular play, Auezhai (Kazakh for “airport”), which presents a cross-section of Kazakhstani society. Passengers on a plane are unable to depart from Almaty airport due to inexplicable circumstances–frankly, a common situation. They’re sitting there, waiting for their flight, getting to know each other, and it turns out that they each represent a different segment of society. There’s a government official, a women’s rights activist, a scientist studying Kazakhstan’s culture, a woman dreaming of moving to Germany, and a man who wants to move to the US on a green card. One of the characters, an openly gay man, is involved in social activism, working to support sexual minorities. He’s one of the characters, and his role is discussed quite extensively within the play, just like any other character.
This play is a cross-section of our society. And it turns out that if there’s a character who says he’s “openly gay, supporting people with non-traditional orientations through his community,” then that’s it, this play falls under this ban, and I don’t think it’s possible to keep his character in the play. But you can’t just cut his character or do anything without him; he is key to the story because he is a part of society.
Is the play Auezhai the only one under threat?
We also show a play called Dark Room. It’s a Belarusian play written against the backdrop of political protests there. It’s the story of a boy from a Minsk orphanage, who gets adopted by a European couple, runs away and starts his own adventure through Berlin’s rave scene. And, of course, he ends up among the gay community. We’re performing this play at 11 PM with a strict 18+ rating. But I think, no matter what time we perform this play under the new law, it could be banned.
The current amendments are fairly general. I don’t think it will ever be clear whether we can perform it after 11 PM after checking audience members’ IDs. What are our rules, as a theater, if we do take on this topic? Or maybe we cannot take it, just because it mentions a person with a non-traditional sexual orientation, and that is considered propaganda? That’s exactly how I read it now.
9-1.5 Organizers of performances and cultural events are obligated to:
5) Not use content aimed at promoting forcible change of the constitutional order, violating the integrity of the Republic of Kazakhstan, undermining state security, or agitating war, social, racial, national, religious, class, or tribal superiority, cruelty or violence, [“non-traditional sexual orientation, pedophilia,”] or what contradicts generally accepted norms of morality and ethics.
How do you envision the future of your craft? Will you practice self-censorship and avoid using certain words, characters, or discuss certain topics?
I think with the adoption of this law, we will simply stop performing these pieces. This isn’t even self-censorship. This will be state censorship. There’s no way for us to make any of this compliant with the law in any way. We can’t, for example, set a late showtime or check the content against the letter of the law. The amendments are so general, and won't be spelled out anywhere.
I think there’s a high probability that certain people—I don’t know what to call them—will come to such performances and exploit this situation to stir up a scandal.
The system of denunciations in Russia provides a very powerful example. Someone could simply send a video to the authorities, and they could make an example out of Artishok Theatre. That’s it. The question is only who will be the first one to be denounced, because the law will have to be enforced somehow.
A scene from a play. Photo courtesy of Artishock Theater.
Have you ever noticed any attacks against you regarding productions with LGBTQ+ characters before?
This has never happened before. We have always had a healthy relationship with the audience because we did whatever we considered important, necessary, and interesting. The audience comes and watches, or doesn’t come and doesn’t watch. They decide whether to buy a ticket or not. This is about creative and artistic freedom as well as the freedom of the audience.
What measures will you take now?
We were just sitting there the other day, and I told the others: “We need to change the age restrictions on our performances. Where it used to be 16+ or 14+, we’ll change them all to 18+.”
But I later realized that even this doesn’t automatically protect us, because the law doesn’t spell out the specific course of action to be taken to avoid violating it. The amendments’ original intention was to prevent children from being targeted by propaganda. Okay, this performance isn't for children. If we mark it 18+, and monitor it, and no children are present, do we still have the right to perform it? That’s still an open question.
Поддержите журналистику, которой доверяют.
