This week’s podcast episode is a very important one, so let’s get straight to it. Katherine and Paul speak to writer, human rights campaigner, political refugee, theatre-maker and ‘public enemy’ to Alexander Lukashenko’s regime in Belarus, Natalia Kaliada. Natalia is a founding Co-Artistic Director of Belarus Free Theatre, a collective of artists who use the power of theatre to fight for democracy in Belarus and oppose what’s known as ‘the last dictatorship in Europe’. We hear about Natalia’s own experiences living a not-so-censored life under an oppressive regime. Including her exile to London and how she continues to fight the same fight her ancestors did (her grandfather survived German concentration camps and Soviet gulags before ever Alexander Lukashenko came to dictatorial rule in his beloved Belarus). Resistance is seemingly in her DNA. Natalia shares the stories of the Belarus protesters, 15,000 of whom have been imprisoned, raped or killed by the Belarus government this year. We hear how theatre has helped some of them through their imprisonment and how Belarus Free Theatre continues to use art as a tool to take down the dictatorship. Katherine and Paul reflect on the importance of this conversation and how now, more than ever, we need to stand with the people of Belarus; not just to demand democracy for them, but to actively protect democracy around the world for everyone. Links, resources and episode timestamps (for all you skippers out there) below. ____ ABOUT NATALIA Natalia Kaliada is a founding Co-Artistic Director of Belarus Free Theatre as well as a writer, human rights campaigner and producer and is one of the most outspoken critics of Belarus’s repressive regime. Belarus Free Theatre was founded in 2005 in Europe's last surviving dictatorship, by Natalia Kaliada and Nicolai Khalezin. BFT’s performances take place in selected secret venues around Minsk with audiences alerted to their existence by text message or e-mail. Although forced to operate under cover within Belarus, the Theatre has travelled widely and has gained a growing international reputation. They continue to create exceptional theatre under near impossible conditions underground in Belarus. The company has found a home as associate artists of the Young Vic, London. Natalia Kaliada has been detained, arrested without access to counsel and threatened with rape for her participation in peaceful rallies that were called “subversive” activities and “unstable elements” by the Belarusian authorities. After the tragic events in Belarus in 2010, she and her husband were smuggled out of Belarus and now live in exile in London. Website: https://www.belarusfreetheatre.com/ Instagram: @belarusfreetheatre Facebook: @belarusfreetheatre Twitter: @BFreeTheatre ____ TAKE ACTION Support Belarus Free Theatre http://www.belarusfreetheatre.com/  I’m with the Banned http://www.belarusfreetheatre.com/en/bft/imwiththebanned/#Banned  Ask your local MP to add “major scumbags” who support Lukashenko’s regime to a sanctions list so their assets will be frozen. ____ LINKS AND RESOURCES Belarus Free Theatre https://www.belarusfreetheatre.com/  Ministry Of Counterculture https://moc.media/ Who is long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko? https://www.euronews.com/2020/08/07/belarus-presidential-election-who-is-long-time-leader-alexander-lukashenko  Who is Svetlana Tikhanovskaya? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/13/world/europe/belarus-opposition-svetlana-tikhanovskaya.html Alexander Lukashenko on Coronavirus https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/coronavirus-belarus-alexander-lukashenko-vodka-sauna-countryside-tractors-a9434426.html  Natalia on Bruatility https://euobserver.com/opinion/149384  Brutality in Belarus https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53776461  Belarus bans two opposition candidates https://www.theguardian.