War is too often portrayed as a male story — in the news, in novels, in our collective consciousness, and on stage. This performance turns that assumption upside down, giving female voices the role of storytellers. Playing as a way of understanding the world is the starting point of this performance. Play carries great potential: it not only reflects our world but also offers the possibility to imagine a peaceful future. War is also mirrored in play — for example, in boys’ games: shooting with sticks, fighting with swords or water guns. In first-person shooters and strategic computer games, wars are simulated. But where are the women in these games, and what roles do they play in real wars? To explore these questions, theatre maker Natasha Borenko went to Mannheim to collect stories from women who have experienced war. The result is an evening of theatre that, by exploring personal stories and transforming play, creates a new world.
The cast consists of 17 women from Ukraine, Kurdistan, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Nigeria, Kosovo, Bosnia, Croatia, and Germany. Siberian-born director Natasha Borenko develops political theatre, in which participation and play are instruments to deconstruct systems and practice social change. The texts were compiled by Lidiia Golovanova, who collected the personal stories of the women.
Stadtensemble NTM Mannheim | Theatre | Germany