Exploring the terrain of artistic landscapes between fiction and facts
Saturday, 16 May and Sunday, 17 May 2026 / Sports Society Tabor Hall, Tabor 13, Ljubljana
The thematic cycle “Fiction – Faction” takes its name from the portmanteau phrase “fiction faction”, and the series of events was motivated by the desire to explore the relationship between art and reality in contemporary theatre, particularly in the context of a post-truth society and the impact of artificial intelligence. Artistic practices that draw on documentary theatre, (auto)biographical narratives, or scientific sources often blur the lines between fact and fiction. This fluidity of relationships has become a central means of expression for devised practices that not only reflect reality but also reconstruct and problematise it.
Fiction-faction thus becomes an artistic method, a genre, and at the same time a tool for revealing the complex nature of truth and fiction. Its focus is on the actor/performer as the author, blurring the boundaries between the personal and the staged. This creates a space in which “lies” are a legitimate artistic gesture that are, however, inextricably intertwined with truth. Perhaps an actor playing themselves lies most precisely when they do so in their own name and this is precisely where the power of art lies: its capacity to both manipulate and reveal at the same time.
In recent years, fiction-faction has become common in autofiction, a term originating in literature but one that opens up new dimensions of authenticity, intimacy, and political engagement in theatre. At a time when art is losing its symbolic capital, when metaphor is giving way to banality and data-driven reality, we are revisiting questions of authorship, truth, manipulation, and theatrical presence.
This two-day event brings together symposium, conference, and festival formats into a microcosm interwoven with the 10th anniversary of the Ich kann nicht anders by the collective Beton Ltd. In Resignation, [TT1.1]presented as an example of a performance that opens up space for reflection on the relationship between fiction and reality in contemporary performance practices. The performance has remained vibrant and relevant throughout the last ten years; it has, so to speak, stood the test of time. Together, we will revisit it and examine it through the lens of speculations fictions that have become facts; media headlines and our experiences over the past ten years.
PROGRAMME
Saturday, 16th Maj 2026
4.00 p.m.
Zala Dobovšek: COMPLEX RELATIONS BETWEEN FICTION AND FACTION
introductory lecture
6.00 p.m.
Filip Mramor, Lana Krmelj: CONTEXT OF CONTEXTS
presentation of a lecture-performance in progress
8.00 p.m.
Beton Ltd. In Resignation: ICH KANN NICHT ANDERS
performance
9.30 p.m.
AUDIENCE PANEL DISCUSSION: Every Time Like the Last – Ich kann nicht anders Ten Years Later
Sunday, 17th Maj 2026
5.00 p.m.
Nina Beguš: ARTIFICIAL HUMANITIES: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN FICTION AND TECHNOLOGY
lecture
8.00 p.m.
Beton Ltd. In Resignation: ICH KANN NICHT ANDERS
performance
*performance will be equipped with audio description for the blind and visually impaired
9.30
Beton Ltd. In Resignation: CHEERS, FICTION!
Free entry for lectures, discussions and the Context of Contexts work in progress.
Ticket reservations for the performance ICH KANN NICHT ANDERS: info@bunker.si
The weekend was conceived by Katarina Stegnar and Maja Vižin.
Producer: Maja Vižin
Production: Bunker Institute, Ljubljana
Funded by: Ministry of Culture, City of Ljubljana
Special thanks to: ŠD Tabor, Darja Marinšek, Walid Raad