Universität KonstanzExzellenzcluster „Kulturelle Grundlagen von Integration“

’Tis war! – Watching human suffering

29. November 2007

Suicide bombings, images of war and refugee camps – television delivers a flood of almost unbearable images to our living rooms every day. How do we cope with these images?

A play reading on 29 November at the Inselhotel in Konstanz will explore this question in a performance blending literary and autobiographical texts with video projections. The reading will begin at 9:30 pm. The reading will accompany the conference “Civil Wars: Violence. Trauma. Intervention” that the Center of Excellence “Cultural Foundations of Integration” is hosting at the Inselhotel on November 29-30.

Konstanz, 27. November 2007: The play reading ‘Tis war! – Watching human suffering will focus on the experience of war at a personal level – the individual experience of violence and its representation in narratives that our societies recount on a more or less professional basis. Rather than instilling shock or urging us to join sides, the play reading will explore our methods of reflecting on war: What reactions do war stories and images of war elicit in an audience? The reading will shift the focus of our attention from the images to our way of perceiving human suffering.

In this performance Berlin-based director Ulf Frötzschner interweaves literary and autobiographical texts by Susan Sontag and Ishmael Beah with photographs. The video projections accompanying the program were created by Olaf Kriseleit, director of the computer studio at the University of the Arts Berlin-Weißensee since 2006, together with stage and costume designer Angelika Winter.

The play reading will feature Katrin Heller, Atean Luc Christophe Boris Ndip and Ronald Funke. Katrin Heller played for the Deutsche Theater Berlin, Schaubühne Berlin, Schauspiel Bonn and the Staatstheater Braunschweig and has worked alongside Robert Wilson, Konstanze Lauterbach and Thomas Ostermeier. She is well-known for her roles in TV productions such as “Das Versprechen” (Director: Margarethe von Trotta), “Tatort: Die apokalyptischen Reiter” (Director: Martin Gies), and an art film project at the Berlin Biennial (Director: Constanze Ruhm). Atean Luc Christophe Boris Ndip was born in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire and is currently a member of the theater group “Die Zwiefachen” at the Schaubühne Berlin. Ronald Funke joined the Heidelberg Theater ensemble in 2005 following engagements at a number of German stages.

Thursday, 29.11.07 at 9:30 pm
Festsaal, Inselhotel, Konstanz

Director: Ulf Frötzschner, Berlin
Video installation: Olaf Kriseleit and Angelika Winter, Berlin
Featuring: Atean L.C.B. Ndip, Katrin Heller and Ronald Funke.

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