etb English
Theatre
Berlin International Performing Arts Center

Who was this Polish Jew that pulled his pants down in front of everyone and sat on the holy book with his bare bottom?

Who was this Jakob Frank, revered by his fans as a messiah and who converted from Judaism to Islam and from Islam to Catholicism? Who was persecuted by the powerful in Poland in the 18th century, spent many years in prison in Tschenstochau and whose story came to a strange but happy end in Offenbach am Main?

The performers LeinzLieberman have searched for the motives behinds this mystical messianic movement over the course of multiple trips tracing the footsteps of Jakob Frank. And they let themselves, together with the designer and DJ Markus Wente, be inspired by it in their new performance. They bring motifs and texts of Jakob Frank to the stage and then transform it into images and movements that also reflect the feelings and desires of people in the Berlin art and party scenes. Using both subtle and expansive images, they tell the story of a search for a new world in which all parts are once again integrated into a complete whole.

Followed by a post-performance discussion

LeinzLieberman are the performance makers Shlomo Lieberman (Israel/Germany) and Ulrich Leinz (Germany). Over the last three years, their work has been included in three consecutive Expat Expo | Immigration Invasion festivals and we premiered their groundbreaking The Other/Promised Land in the fall of 2016. We are very excited to host them – collaborating with colleagues – as our fall artists in residence, presenting three different works in September, October and November.

Lovers1 will be performed on September 29 and The Other/Promised Land will be performed on October 13.