Biographies sometimes contain sudden breaks indicating that life has gone in a new direction. When this happens in the context of war, flight and expulsion, it harbours political potential. Turning Points retraces pivotal events in the biographies of young migrants and makes them tangible through re-enactments. The audience members become active participants in the performance and, at the same time, witnesses of very personal historical narratives.
Selection committee statement excerpt:
“In a highly intimate offering, the performance breaks with traditional theatre rules, as the actors do not simply tell their story, but moreover, they practically entrust the audience with its keeping.”
Each person’s biography harbours turning points – breaks that leave their mark on our personal history. Some bigger, some smaller, but never inconsequential. For refugees who are often forced to leave their entire lives behind, these moments transform personal stories into political messages that reveal the impact of political decisions on the personal lives of individual human beings. The performative installation created by Ingo Toben and his team broadens these biographic horizons and offers all participants a radical change in perspective.
In a highly intimate offering, the performance breaks with traditional theatre rules, as the actors do not simply tell their story, but moreover, they practically entrust the audience with its keeping. Those who hear it experience it (nearly) first-hand. As a result, snapshots of individual fates quickly turn into collective experiences that appeal to all of the senses and are never presented in the same way twice.
Founded in 1999, FFT (Forum Freies Theater) is a production centre and venue for professional independent theatre in Düsseldorf.Together with an interdisciplinary team, Ingo Toben develops productions that oscillate between performance art, concerts and installations. He considers the performers in his projects as authors. Correspondingly, improvisation and research are key aspects of his developmental process – methods which challenge young people to explore new approaches to artistic work.
accessible to
public | 14+
Venue
Probebühne
Duration
50 Min.
Theatre
FFT Düsseldorf
www.fft-duesseldorf.de
Production
FFT Düsseldorf
Staging & artistic direction: Ingo Toben
Musical direction: Christoph Grothaus
Scenery: Joachim Brodin
Text & dramaturgy: Anke Platon
Production management & visual media: Kamila Kurczewski
Assistance: Hannah Giese, Shannon Sinclair, Malin Speicher
Performance: Gulhan Abdo, Mohammad Ali, Pooriya Alizadeh, Abdul Rahim Grul Ahmad, Fahd Finde Hasan Smoqi
Performing rights: Ingo Toben
Sponsored by: Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of NRW. Funding for TURNING POINTS was made possible through the Alliance of International Production Houses, an initiative of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media.
