Rimini Protokoll: Being a Compatriot
Rimini Protokoll: Mr. Dağacar and the Golden Tectonics of Trash / Photo: Rimini Protokoll
Istanbul seems to be both a fairytale metropolis and a mysterious unknown territory. How do the people who live there see their 2,000-year-old city? How do they determine their place within the city's complex texture? Can theatre adequately represent the coexistence of vastly different cultures? Can a city in effect play itself?
Being a Compatriot is more than just a self-reflection of the increasingly globalizing new Istanbul. Situated on Europe's easternmost tip, the city is a gateway to the Orient with its multi-polar communities where conservative and liberal traditions clash.
In Germany, the perception of Turkey is strongly shaped by the first and second generations of immigrants. At the same time, the media show Istanbul to be a hot spot of the international creative class. Being a Compatriot brings these contrasting voices to the theatre.
On stage, the city is represented by a crowd of people. These mobile messengers provide a more authentic self-portrait of the city than newscasts, state visits and romantic tourist clichés ever could. It's a theatrical protocol of and a tool to learn about the many voices and diverse urban legends of a city. Istanbul - Essen: Two cities meet and take a close look at each other. Glances wander from the audience to the stage and back in a ping pong game of perceptions.
Helgard Haug, Stefan Kaegi and Daniel Wetzel make up Rimini Protokoll. Trade publication Theater der Zeit says they are among the "protagonists and founders of a new reality trend on our stages" that has shaped today's young theatre scene. Their works take place in the zone between reality and fiction and are internationally acclaimed. Their aim is to further broaden the scope of theatre and to provide unconventional perspectives of our everyday reality.
German premiere
November 2010
PACT Zollverein, Essen
Partners: Istanbul.2010, garjistanbul, Hebbel am Ufer/Berlin, PACT Zollverein/Essen
You can find additional information at:
pact zollverein
rimini protokoll
(also in Spanish, French, Finnish, Greek)
www.garajistanbul.org