Thursday, July 7, 2016

Opening of the festival “Foreign Affairs”: Passion with trombone – Tagesspiegel

From a distance already hear a shriek. No ecstatic groupies, but a bit chaotic film shoot. The New York avant-garde troupe Nature Theater of Oklahoma has become a darling of European festivals. In Berlin, the artist couple Kelly Cooper and Pavol Liska rotates with amateur actors in different places a retro science fiction film entitled “Germany Year 2071″. Futurism of New York artist pair is penetrated by blooming nonsense. At the opening of “Foreign Affairs” they rehearsed in the Haus der Berliner Festspiele the episode “Evacuation in pajamas”.

And here showed again that the Berliners are a fearless breed of people. For art, they do – almost – everything. More than a hundred enthusiasts had willingly donned pajamas or nightgowns and grabbed a stuffed animal. Now they were waiting for the instructions of the director Pavol Liska. The briefly outlined the nightmare scenario: A legendary swamp monster that lies dormant in the Berlin underground, suddenly comes to life. The attack caught the man in the middle of sleep. When it comes to evacuation stampede. Man ponders whether this scenario probably should be a not necessarily subtle allusion to the fact that the Berlin like verpennen their problems. “Show me terror,” Liska has then to his scraped amateurs. And calls on them to give 100 percent and to highlight the limelight.

The Monster pajama party is a great fun for all involved. This should be the future of participatory theater? The will be the “German angst”? A strange mood for the festival “Foreign Affairs”. While the South African multimedia artist William Kentridge in Martin-Gropius-Bau, the Ciné-Concert “Paper Music” performs with singers, drawn from participatory willing to learn fear. And end up in the middle of a funny horror simulation.



Not to say the festival, how to proceed in 2017

The last “Foreign Affairs” issue is also the most beautiful be promises Artistic Director Thomas Oberender. “We were always interested in making extraordinary, too much to do.” True! The motto “Uncertainty” has borrowed from Kentridge, this time the central figure. Complementing the exhibition “No it is” in the Gropius-Bau shows “Foreign Affais” some of his most important stage works, including the “Drawing Lessons”. . In this autobiographical Lectures Kentridge not only demonstrates its transdisciplinary working methods, it will also tell of colonial history and the political upheavals between apartheid and present

On the keyboard of uncertainty also plays Oberender: The question of what to “Foreign Affairs “follows, is hanging in the air. From 2017 the Berliner Festspiele want to offer something new. The favorite idea of ​​Oberender are the “immersive arts”. But he did not announced about the future direction of the festival. Festival director Matthias von Hartz will not say in the future course, so was able to express his regret at the end: “Foreign Affairs” had managed to positioneren the international festival context. If so disappear a festival, is the cause for concern. Despite the protestations of unity of Oberender and Hartz: Here one could imagine dissent

For Performance by Alain Platel then appeared all the big names in the Berlin cultural scene.. Acclaimed choreographer who has never sheared to genre boundaries, has let the tradition of Flemish brass bands to “En avant, marche!” Stimulate, he has worked with director Frank of Laecke and composer Steven Prengels the piece. Initially spanning the massive Wim Opbrouck viewers pointing to the torture. The “Lohengrin” Overture sounds, Opbrouck accesses the two basins and waiting to finally be used. Undgeduldig he will fast forward and leaves it finally rattle twice powerful. A fulfilled life as a musician looks different. A little later we learn why he tapst so sullenly across the stage.

The man has just learned that he has throat cancer. The disease makes it impossible for him to continue to play trombone. The Geständis is presented here in Italian. This is a quote from Pirandello’s monologue “L’uomo dal fiore in bocca”. translated Opbrouck: “Death has visited and has a flower stuck in my mouth.” In this lugubrious stage Requiem Alain Platel wants to show at all Körperdrastik also moments of painful poetry. But the act but very hard. Open Brock shouts his anger out, gasping, fiepst and snorts. But what he most fears, is fading away of the music. He may be relegated to the last row, but he urges his teammates repeatedly to keep going on.



Life is a disease, but the art gives comfort

Alain Platel succumbs at issue death and music course the clichés. A last gasp before scraping. That at Blasmusik also the subject of sexuality is not spared, was clear. The former trombonist makes one of the two already older Funkemariechen with ambiguous to, about: “If your St. Matthew Passion is satisfied, then comes the little Johannes past?” What makes the scene really annoying: The Ange dredged has the uncharmanten Galan also yet their love confess – and is then rejected rudely Although

Opbrouck has a massive presence, but particularly subtle is not his game.. And he wants to cast no tragic figure. One last dance is to facilitate the moribund to finish. The former ballet dancer Hendrik Lebon lifts the massive Openbrouck up, gives him an ecstatic moment. These blows on the mouthpiece of a trumpet Schubert’s “organ-grinder”. The physical verses currency affected the music here. Life is a disease, but art gives comfort. That is the message this evening, which sometimes drags and -scheppert.

A Brass Band, one South African, also appeared in the 45-meter film projection “More Sweetly Play The Dance” by William Kentridge on. At the Festspielhaus facade you could follow the procession of shadowy figures who remembers times to a demonstration, at times a cheerful parade after 22 PM. The associations with refugees is quite beabchsichtigt because some of the figures hauling burdens. Through this stream of people and icons swirls a dancer with marvelous ease. The seemingly endless movement agrees euphoric.

“Foreign Affairs”, to 16 July in the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, www.berliner-festspiele.de

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