ADO Theatre

05/09/2026

ADO (Azərbaycan Dağınıq Oda) Theatre is honored to be part of IN THE MOUNTAINS 2026.

ADO was founded in 2013 in Baku as Azerbaijan's first independent theatre, operating without state funding or institutional protection. Over more than a decade, ADO staged bold work — including performances taken directly into the streets — addressing freedom, conscience, and civic life in ways state-run venues never could.

Along the way, ADO faced sustained pressure: police raids, venue closures, and surveillance. After years of this, founder Elmin Badalov was forced into exile in Berlin, and in late 2025, ADO officially suspended its activities inside Azerbaijan.

This September, ADO is proud to share its story at IN THE MOUNTAINS — a q***r and feminist art festival in exile, bringing together artists, collectives, and organizations from the South Caucasus and Berlin's cultural community.

📅 26 September 2026 | 14:00–03:00
📍 Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin
🎟️ Free entry

Thank you to IN THE MOUNTAINS for standing in solidarity and giving ADO's story a stage.

07/08/2026

ADO Theatre’s open letter to Europe’s democratic institutions and political leaders has now been published in Norwegian by Norway’s leading performing arts journal, Scenekunst.no.

Elmin Badalov er grunnlegger av ADO Theatre, et av Aserbajdsjans første initiativer for samtidsteater. Han er nå i eksil i Berlin, og derfra har han skrevet et åpent brev om situasjonen i Aserbajdsjan og Europas ansvar.

29/07/2026

ADO Theatre founder Elmin Badalov's open letter has been featured in this week's theatre news by Theater der Zeit (Germany).

https://tdz.de/artikel/2026-07-24-20-juli-bis-24-juli-2026-dominique-mayr-wird-kaufmaennischer-direktor-am-theater-und-orchester-heidelberg-kilianpreise-2026-fuer-cosima-fischlein-richard-feist-und-andreas-donders-generalmusikdirektor-stefan-veselka-verlaesst-staatstheater-ernst-deutsch-theater-aeussert-sich-zu-morddrohungen-nach-wal-stueck-staatstheater-wird-partner-im-eu-forschungsprojekt-vopus-exilierter-theatergruender-richtet-offenen-brief-an-europas-institutionen-theatermacher-gunnar-petersen-gestorben-theaterleiter-schretzmeier-mit-buergermedaille-geehrt

24/07/2026

ADO Theatre founder Elmin Badalov’s open letter has been published by Netgazeti (Georgia).

ემიგრაციაში მყოფი აზერბაიჯანის „დაუმორჩილებელი ოთახის თეატრის“ (ADO) დამფუძნებელმა, რეჟისორმა ელმინ ბადალოვმა ე....

22/07/2026

The open letter by ADO Theatre founder Elmin Badalov, addressed to Europe’s democratic institutions and leaders, has been published in English by:

• Human Rights in Azerbaijan
• Caspian Watch

https://humanrightsaz.com/en/exiled-azerbaijani-theatre-founder-urges-europe-not-to-sacrifice-human-rights-for-strategic-interests/

https://caspianwatch.com/2026/07/20/exiled-azerbaijani-theatre-director-urges-european-leaders-not-to-ignore-political-arrests/

Elmin Badalov, the exiled founder of Azerbaijan's Independent ADO Theatre, has issued an open letter to European institutions and political leaders, urging them not to remain silent about human rights violations in Azerbaijan for the sake of economic and strategic interests. In his letter, Badalov w...

21/07/2026

ADO Teatrının qurucusu Elmin Bədəlovun Avropanın demokratik institutlarına və liderlərinə ünvanladığı açıq məktub Toplum TV tərəfindən də dərc olunub.

Azərbaycan Dağınıq Oda Teatrının (ADO) mühacirətdə yaşayan yaradıcısı, aktyor Elmin Bədəlov Avropa institutları və siyasi...

20/07/2026

ADO Teatrının qurucusu Elmin Bədəlovun Avropanın demokratik institutlarına və liderlərinə ünvanladığı açıq məktub Meydan TV-də də dərc olunub.

Məktub müstəqil mədəniyyət, azad düşüncə və demokratik dəyərlər haqqında çağırışdır.

Azərbaycan Dağınıq Oda Teatrının (ADO) mühacirətdə olan yaradıcısı Elmin Bədəlov ... Davamı

20/07/2026

An Open Letter to Europe’s Democratic Institutions and Leaders

I founded ADO Theatre in Azerbaijan in 2013.

It was an independent theatre.

Eventually, it was systematically silenced. I was forced into exile.

This letter is not only about my theatre.

It is about the changes that begin in thought long before political change.

Political change does not begin when power changes hands.

It begins much earlier — when people begin to think differently, ask different questions and imagine a different future.

Authoritarian systems understand this very well.

That is why they fear independent journalism, satire, theatre, literature and art.

Because they help people think.

When an independent theatre is silenced, society loses one of the places where it can recognise itself.

When journalists are imprisoned, society loses part of its memory.

When independent voices disappear, society gradually loses its ability to imagine another future.

This is why the destruction of independent cultural and civic spaces is never only a domestic issue.

It shapes how an entire society thinks, remembers and imagines its future.

Today, hundreds of political prisoners remain behind bars in Azerbaijan. Independent journalism has been criminalised. Fear has become part of everyday civic life.

Europe often speaks about security, stability and strategic partnership.

But no lasting partnership can be built by looking away while an entire society is being deprived of its independent voice.

People across the world have looked to Europe not because it claimed to be perfect, but because it claimed that human dignity should never depend on political expediency.

Its influence has come from a simple but powerful belief: that human dignity is never a matter of political convenience, that freedom of expression is not conditional, and that power itself must have moral limits.

These principles are not Europe’s weakness.

They are the source of Europe’s credibility.

If they become negotiable, Europe risks losing something greater than any political or economic agreement.

History remembers agreements.

But it also remembers who remained faithful to their principles when it mattered.

Every democratic future begins with the freedom to think.

Elmin Badalov

Founder of ADO Theatre

15/07/2026

15 iyul 2013
Bu gün ADO rəsmi olaraq təsis olundu.

Bəzi səhnələr bağlanır.

Bəziləri yaddaşlarda yaşamağa davam edir.

15 July 2013
On this day, ADO Theatre was officially founded.

Some stages are closed.

Some continue to live in memory.