Participants: Maja Das Gupta, Volker Lüdecke, Mirza Metin, Wajiha Said, Ulrike Syha, Helim Yusiv

Led by Mitza Metin

Interpreter: Nihat Mert

Team: Frank Heuel, Jennifer Merten, Hicran Demir

“And then a stranger came in”
German and Kurdish theater authors

In the third nexus workshop, Kurdish and German authors will meet. In preparation of the workshop, the authors write a monologue based on the sentence “and then a strange person came in”. The resulting Kurdish monologues are translated into German and the German monologues into Kurdish. In the workshop, the authors will write new texts together and exchange ideas about the writing-process, the written and the performance of writing in a theatrical context and try out formats together.
Thematically, writing is at the center of the workshop. We are looking for expressions, topics, encounters. But the form of writing will also be part of the workshop. The fringe ensemble brings in its accumulated experiences with live-writing formats and with the interaction between authors and actors on the stage and together the multilingualism and topic of the network is further developed. What other possibilities arise in dealing with different languages, beyond the understanding of words, on stage? Which thematic references do the different authors look for each other?
The Kurdish languages and Kurdish culture were repeatedly banned in the history of the stateless people. This created a special relationship to the mother tongue. But also, in the German theater tradition the handling of language is given a high priority.

This workshop was from 26 to 28 April 2019.

Participants: Andreas Meidinger, David Fischer, Gıyasettin Uçun, Hicran Demir,  Sevim Kesbir / 

Led by  Mirza Metin 

Assistant: Hicran Demir Translator: Nihat Mert. 

The confrontation with the Kurdish narrative art Dengbêj, in which, according to an old epic tradition, secular folk songs are performed without instrumental accompaniment only with their own voice forms the starting point of a joint theatrical exploration with German and Kurdish actors in the fifth nexus workshop.Reflected on elements of Brecht’s epic theater, we will exchange perspectives on the traditions of narrative arts and develop something new from the friction of one with the other theatrical form and technique. This encounter, meeting on an equal footing, keeps us aware the ways of working together, in which everyone grants the other access to his theatrical tradition. The workshop will be led by Mirza Metin, who has already conducted a study on Dengbêj and the traditional Kurdish folk dances, focusing on movement, breathing and voice.

Presentation Dengbêj meets Brecht

Friday 12th July 2019/ 8 pm / Hansa-Haus Bad Godesberg

After the presentation, we invite you to a conversation.