As protests and political changes sweep across Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia and Libya, Belarusian theatre artists Nikolai Khalezin and Natalya Koliada are likely to be observing developments with interest. Coming from the Republic of Belarus, a regime governed by Alexander Lukashenko, they fully understand the importance of democracy and freedom of speech and expression.
'Any dictatorship brings limits and humiliation to people,' says Koliada, co-founder of the Belarus Free Theatre. 'It's difficult to find inspiration when your friends are being kidnapped and killed or face 15 years in jail and your parents are being pressured by the KGB because of what you do. People give us inspiration.'
Koliada founded her troupe with husband Nikolai Khalezin in 2005 to give fellow citizens a voice through theatre. But because of government censorship, the actors can no longer perform in their own country without risking their lives or being imprisoned, the couple say.
Now joined by director Vladimir Scherban, the Belarus Free Theatre has been on the road since the end of last year, and has already won international acclaim for its politically engaging theatre work on democracy and freedom of expression. Koliada says the troupe listed 16 issues that are considered taboo in Belarus, including suicide, sexuality, religion and the second world war - the very subjects that they tackle in their work.
'We just did the theatre and didn't think about sending any messages,' she says. 'But in circumstances such as ours, when you start to produce something that worries people, the message is distributed on its own.'
When protests against the allegedly rigged presidential election in Belarus were suppressed last December, the couple fled with most of the troupe, then appeared at the Under the Radar Festival in New York in January.