Founded in 2008, the Boston Experimental Theatre Company (BETC) is a laboratory toward the ‘Theatre of Unknown’, and ‘Dialogue of Civilizations’. BETC productions aim to foster meaningful communication between the actors and the audience to inspire a collective exploration of feelings held captive in the body and the unconscious. Inspired by the theatre of Antonin Artaud and Jerzy Grotowski, our rehearsals always begin in an empty space with the director, actors, and designers engaging in exercises that explore their thoughts and feelings and allow relationships to develop; our productions grow organically from this intimate and intense atmosphere. BETC believes the theater must be a space where actors and spectators can connect meaningfully to their dreams and emotions at the deepest level.

Inspired by the philosophy of Dialogue of Civilizations, BETC has produced the first theatre collaborations among artists from Iran, Iraq, and the U.S., after many years of wars and mass destruction. With a company of international artists from different parts of the world and with diverse backgrounds, the Dialogue of Civilizations initiative aims to spark global understanding and empathy to foster a future of symbiotic cultural development and exchange. With our productions, artists from different cultures celebrate and present their work with the sensibilities, experiences, and ideas of different civilizations. With these productions, we hope to create intercultural dialogue among our artists and audiences to explore the dynamics of the interplay between their cultures. At BETC, we are motivated to use our arts as a platform to advocate for human rights
movements, refugee crises, women’s rights movement, and anti-war movements, believing in the power of social justice through the lens of theatre and all forms of arts.

Learn more about Boston Experimental Theatre Company.