Berlin-based Ballhaus Naunynstrasse Makes its American Debut At PS122 11/20-21

What stories can be told about the real lives of migrants that go beyond the worn-out integration debates and stereotyped musings on identity and belonging - and how can these stories be brought to the stage?

The acclaimed Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, located in the heart of the multicultural neighborhood of Kreuzberg in Berlin, brings to New York its "post-migrant theater" with the American premieres of Ferienlager (Holiday Camp) - The 3rd Generation, on November 17 and 18 and Klassentreffen (Class Reunion) - The 2nd Generation on November 20 and 21. Since its reopening in 2008 under the direction of Shermin Langhoff, Ballhaus Naunynstrasse has provided a platform for the children and grandchildren of Turkish immigrants to share their experience growing up in a country coming to terms with its ethnic and religious plurality. Both plays, directed by Lukas Langhoff, are dubbed as "documentary theater," in that all performers are telling their own stories, which are the basis of the scripts. The performances will take place at the 9th Space located at P.S. 122, and will be presented in German with English subtitles.

In Ferienlager - The 3rd Generation, ten young German-Turks, born and bred in Berlin, muse on their lives and the many contradictions that define them. Eight beds are arranged on an otherwise empty stage, while two angels - one with white and the other with blacK Wings - drift by the sleepers, arguing about whom their souls belong to. The young adults wake up and begin expressing their feelings about their place in society and the pursuit of their individual interests with a candor as liberating as it is engaging. In their hands, the stage becomes a playground for martial art freaks, wannabe singers, and misunderstood mathematical geniuses, with flashes of Bollywood and rap shows.

Klassentreffen - The 2nd Generation turns its focus on migrants who arrived in Germany together with their parents. Culled from conversations and interviews with six German Turks - including the Green party politician Özcan Mutlu and the long-standing president of the Islamic Women's Association, Emel Zeynelabidin (who, four years ago, took the radical step of taking off her headscarf) - the play is a collage of intensely personal sketches that reveal a lot about today's German-Turkish reality in Berlin. All six characters have 'made it' - although making it extends far beyond a professional career as they each learn how to find their way between two different, and sometimes contradictory, cultures.

SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCES:

FERIENLAGER -THE 3RD GENERATION (American Premiere)
Wednesday, November 17 and Thursday, November 18 at 8PM

Director/Set Design: Lukas Langhoff
Starring: Ozan Aksu, Kader Arslan, Tamer Arslan, Ibrahim-Utku Erdogan, Duygu Sebnem Ince, Eray Kaya, Esra Kirtay, Lale Mahrt, Alkim Tas, Çidem Topbas

KLASSENTREFFEN -THE 2ND GENERATION (American Premiere)
Saturday, November 20 at 8 PM and Sunday, November 21 at 4 PM

Director: Lukas Langhoff
Starring: Tuna Basgerdan, Hülya Duyar, Özcan Mutlu, Dilek Sillmann-Bölükgiray, Ünal Yüksel, Emel Zeynelabidin

VENUE: 9th space, located @PS122, 150 First Avenue@9th Street, NYC

TICKETS: $15/$10 (Students and seniors)
For both shows: $25/$15 (Students and seniors)
www.theatermania.com / Phone: 212-352-3101

For more information, visit: http://www.ballhausnaunynstrasse.de

 

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