What does a family look like today? How important to us are notions of identity, origin, and homeland?
How far are we defined by relationships, and by a sense of belonging? What communities do we belong to, and what kind of world do we want to live in?
Following the success of I am Fassbinder, playwright / director Falk Richter collaborates with choreographer Nir de Volff, dramaturge Nils Haarmann and an ensemble of eight young actors, dancers, and performance artists from different European countries. The Noord Nederlands Toneel is a proud co-producer of this performance.
The artists speak French, Croatian, Portuguese, Dutch, Arabic and English on stage. Richter and his creative team bring together the personal stories of the performers to question notions of identity and community, creating a panorama of Europe today:
“I have brought together an ensemble of actors, dancers, and performance artists from different European countries, all aged between 20 and 35 years old, all with complex stories of identity, family, and belonging, stretching far beyond national and cultural boundaries. Some have family origins in former colonies of Western powers, giving them another perspective on Europe. We started work with a group of 25 artists, and we have chosen 8 of them for the performances. Rehearsals started initially in French and English: gradually other languages have come in, and the performances will also include Croatian, Portuguese, Dutch and Arabic.
How has European history marked the lives of these young performers? In what kinds of families have they grown up? What do they think of the concept of family? How do they see themselves within a Europe threatened by fear and right-wing populism, and in democracies that are increasingly overrun by discourses of hatred and demagoguery? How do they imagine we will live together in the future?”
