Die Verdunkelung II – Coronaleuchten
Sat 22.04. 17:00
About
Adolescence in lockdown and a planet in fever: The Piccolo Theater Youth Club wants to talk about it! In their production "Verdunklung" (blackout), the group dealt with the climate catastrophe. When tackling the topic of the pandemic for their next play, they realized that the basic theme remained the same: the fatal impact of humankind on their environment. So the sequel "Verdunklung II" was born. The young people demonstrate that the pandemic is part of the climate narrative and how capitalism is jeopardizing the future of the young generation and all generations to come.
This is the first production by young people for young people to be invited to the festival. The Piccolo Theater offers 14 different options, e.g. dance, puppetry, and theater, for young people 4 years and older and is therefore one of the most diverse creative clubs in the landscape of German children's and youth theater.
Follow-up conversations
After all performances, there will be several follow-up conversations lasting a maximum of 90 minutes. The talks will be divided up on the spot. There is always a talkback in English (or with English interpretation) for this guest performance, as well as spatially accessible options. Information about the presenters can be found here.
Credits
Cast: Amy Münzenberger, Henriette Bayer, Luise Unger, Anne Fiedler, Zuzanna Pacholska, Justus Bothe, Lennart Gantzer, Florian Jähne, Dennis Selka, Courtney Bischoff und Leonhard Lorenz
Director: Matthias Heine
Choreography: Zaida Ballesteros Parejo
Light / Technical equipment / Piano: Konstantin Walter
Vote
What are we here for? Here in the world. Here in the theater. The question of whether throwing mashed potatoes at a glass-protected painting was a hostile act towards the arts caused quite a stir a few months ago. (Though that debate was not quite as heated as the "climate stickers" on the streets). The youth club of Cottbus' Piccolo Theater doesn't take to the streets or the art galleries, but it does use the arts for a show on the "consequences and origins of the pandemic in the field of conflict between climate change, capitalism and a livable future."
"We are here, we are loud," it echoes through the streets during demonstrations, and it gets noisy in the theater as well, where the performers captivate their audience with, for example, the fluctuating rhythms, including a silence that lasts for several minutes. Youth is a statue on display. And it looks back at you. Due to exhaustion or the calm before the storm?
In a number of texts, some compiled, some self-written, the image of a diseased world emerges, of a society divided by the pandemic, which carries the disease within itself or - as humanity on a troubled planet - is the disease, and it must change radically in order to enable a future worth living for.
Who will take on the responsibility for this to happen? The letter to a future child who is not to be born into this world is one of the saddest and most stirring moments of this performance, rich in emotional highs and lows.
The invitation to AUGENBLICK MAL! is also a tribute to the years of consistent emancipatory work with children and youth at the Piccolo Theater in Cottbus, where an AFD candidate had a real chance of winning the election for mayor in the fall of 2022.
What is a painting good for? What is art good for? There is no escape. The young people on this stage are not running away, they are standing up for themselves and will not allow their future to be stolen. These young people are the future. And they offer their support in shaping the future. More of this, please!
Winfried Tobias
Content Note
In Die Verdunkelung II – Coronaleuchten, the themes addressed include death, physical, mental and emotional violence, serious illness (physical and psychological), war and environmental disasters. Some viewers may find this disturbing.
Fog and darkness are used in places, along with the use of loud voices and strobes. This can stimulate sensory stimuli through smell, fast pulsating flash light and volume.
Watch at your own risk, so decide for yourself whether you might feel triggered by the piece or not.
