This time all eyes are on Germany, or rather on the theater of the German-speaking area and on that extraordinary tradition which includes great authors such as Bertolt Brecht and the Austrian Peter Handke. On the other hand, the book opens with a tribute to the playwright from Augsburg seventh edition Of Polis Theater Festivalthe Ravenna event directed by Davide Sacco And Agata Tomsic / ErosAntErosscheduled from 7 to 12 May in various spaces in the city (Teatro Rasi, Artificerie Almagià, Teatro Socjale). To open the German Focus it is in fact an extraordinary prologue scheduled for April 24th at the Teatro Alighieri, where it will be performed Saint Joan of the Slaughterhousesa new international production by ErosAntEros which has just debuted at the Arena del Sole in Bologna: a highly original version of the Brechtian classic, in which with a multilingual cast, and the original live music of the Slovenian cult band Laibach, we reflect on the present by building a montage in which general strikes, international conflicts, lack of rights and precariousness enter into dialogue with the original text.
It then gets to the heart of things from May 7th with performances by great artists from the European theater scene, national premieres, co-productions and moments of discussion between artists, scholars and international operators. Among the first national ones is the feminist collective based in Berlin She She Pop with Possessed – A collective monologue that renews the concept of “theater without an audience” through a polyphonic monologue in which the community has its say (11 May), followed by a meeting with the company and the critic Gianni Manzella.
Among the important international hospitality: Rimini Protokolla well-known Berlin group, with The Walks, a traveling performance redesigned specifically for the festival, which uses public space as a theatrical backdrop (9-12 May); the Swiss artist Mats Staub with Death and Birth in My Life which addresses the universal themes of birth and death through individual testimonies, creating an intimate place to experience a common experience (9-12 May); the Italian-German company Barletti/Waas with the historic show Self-defamation by the Austrian Nobel Prize winner Peter Handke (10 May).
Another co-production of the festival, presented in its national premiere, is On the difficulty of telling the truth Of ErosAntErostaken from Brecht’s political-literary essay Five difficulties for those who write the truthwhich triggers the company’s sound-vocal research with the photographer’s images of reality Michele Lapini (8-10-11 and 12 May). The show is also presented in a matinee as a special project for the secondary schools of Ravenna (8 May), and brings with it two meeting opportunities, one with the students, and the other after the evening repeat on the 8th May with a round table organized by the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Bologna and the Europe Direct Center of Romagna on Disinformation and democratic risk one month before the European vote.
There are also many young artists present at the Festival: with the debut of Nineteen hundred/89 Of The blowgunsa female duo, which, in the now traditional formula of Sunday lunch at the Teatro Socjale in Piangipane, tells the story of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the PCI, mixing family memories with historical ones (12 May); Caterina Marinoselected through the national network to support the emerging creativity In-Box, which with Still Alive analyzes the discomfort of a generation that is unable to project itself into the future (9 May); the two shows chosen by the Ravenna spectators through the national project The Italy of Visionaries, Be Woman Of Antonella Salvatore/European Theater Institute and – in the national premiere – Two Nutcrackers of the company Poor Common Mortals (7 May). Among the many meeting, participation and inclusion projects we also highlight a laboratory for international students of the I-Contact Master, led by the international critic Tom Mustrophwhich also coordinates an in-depth round table on contemporary German theater together with important international operators (11 May, 3pm).
POLIS Teatro Festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Municipality of Ravenna, the Monte di Bologna and Ravenna Foundation, the Swiss Foundation for Culture – Pro Helvetia, the Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna Foundation and the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia .
