our production SHIT ISLAND has been awarded the Kurt-Hackenberg Prize for Political Theatre 2018. The prize is awarded annually by the Freie Volksbühne Köln. We say thank you!
+++"Shit Island is thus not only a remarkable
remarkable evening of theatre, but also political in the best sense of our
prize "+++
From André 04.12.2018
Laudatory speech by Sandra Nuy for the jury of the Kurt Hackenberg Prize (November 2018):
"Shit Island" explores the chequered history of the tiny Pacific island of Nauru. Its
surface was once covered with metres of phosphate, which was formed from bird droppings. Through this
raw material, the island experienced a political and economic rollercoaster ride: formerly a
German, then Australian colony, after independence the richest country in the world, when the
When the phosphate resources ran out, the state went bankrupt. Today the island is devastated, the
population is sick and an Australian refugee camp is the only source of foreign currency. The intelligent
The intelligent examination of Futur3 with the mechanisms of capitalism is combined with historic
South Sea visions of artists and seafarers, so that it is always a question of both
and the foreign, the exotic dream of paradise and life on the ground - or, rather, what we
or rather what we imagine local life to be. Because "Shit Island" always revolves around the question
the question of how images of the foreign are created. Directed by André Erlen
the production reconstructs European imperialism and the effects of globalisation-induced
of globalisation-related exploitation. With a light hand, Erlen arranges a wealth of details at the same time
and playful, to get to the bottom of the history and present of the island state of Nauru.
to the bottom.
The use of the various means is often ironic and sometimes even genuinely funny without
funny, without taking the material less seriously. For the "postcolonial South Seas
dream", Petra Maria Wirth has built two very different spaces: the first part is in the midst of all kinds of tropical
The audience experiences the first part in the midst of all kinds of tropical frippery in a darkened environment.
Historical travelogues mix here with sounds, tones and South Seas hits played live by the musician
Jörg Ritzenhoff plays live.
The second room leaves the staged South Seas exoticism behind and shows the fortunes of Nauru
sometimes in miniature and sometimes as a projection. Irene Eichenberger, Stefan H. Kraft and Luzia
Schelling portray residents, reporters and tourists in various episodes. The line
between cabaret and performance, but the three of them always maintain respect for their
respect for their subject. All in all, "Shit Island" is not only a remarkable evening of theatre
not only a remarkable evening of theatre but also political in the best sense of our
sense of our prize.
Tags: germany