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Puddles

What language does love speak? Does speaking multiple languages give us multiple personalities? What goes beyond language and right into our bodies?

Set in Berlin between the 1990s and now, Puddles is about a love triangle between three university friends, Judith, Max and Nora. Max and Judith were childhood sweethearts but broke up when Judith went traveling. Max and Nora got together, stayed together, married, bought a flat and are trying for a baby. These best-laid plans, however, as well all know, often go awry…

In this version, Max only speaks German, Judith only English and Nora switches between the two.

The LAB reading will be the very first work-in-progress presentation of the new multilingual version of the play, followed by a post-performance discussion.

No One Comes Back

When one twin goes to war, can the other escape it?

When her twin brother is deployed as a fighter pilot, a sister finds herself in a war she never signed up for. Bombings, cornfields, deer eyeballs and shamans, No One Comes Back is a true story about war, twinhood and what it means to save each other when no one really comes back.

The play moves between rural US-American childhood and the wildly different paths the twins take as adults. One heads into military service, the other into art school, Berlin and a string of questionable survival strategies. With humor and candor, it asks how families carry violence by proxy, how love persists under pressure, and if late-night phone calls can bridge the distance between two twins at risk of losing themselves.

No One Comes Back is a raw, unforgettable story about the ways we wage war and the complicated love that shapes us, whether we want it to or not.

omfg hamlet do i look like i care

William Shakespeare and the Bechdel Test

How much agency do female characters have in works of fiction? In 1986, US-American cartoonist Alison Bechdel provided a simple set of rules for figuring this out: the Bechdel test. Are there at least two female characters in the work? Do they speak to each other? About something other than men?

In all of William Shakespeare’s thirty-six plays, there is exactly one overlooked scene in a mostly overlooked play (Richard II) where two women converse.

With this in mind, omfg hamlet do i look like i care questions the supposed universality of Shakespeare’s themes. Combining Shakespearean language with modern dialogue and original text by creator/actor Kay Marie, the production investigates what happens when women are finally allowed the stage — and the conversation — all to themselves.

Two powerhouse performers take on a multitude of roles, including queens, noblewomen, podcast hosts, karaoke singers, dancers and professional bowlers. A male actor appears in a deliberately sidelined supporting role, used purely as a narrative device. What begins as an absurdly comic interview between two clueless influencers soon spirals into a chaotic, heartfelt, and surprisingly tender journey through female experience — both real and imagined.

Ein Sumpf bildet sich

“I love Germany. But in Germany now there is a swamp forming. At the moment just a swamp. But give it just a few more years. The swamp becomes a lake. The lake becomes a sea. And it swallows everything up.”

Staying with a German family while running a project in their local village school, a British-Iranian teacher contends with ancestral guilt, a possessed scarecrow and a rising tide of Islamophobia.

Followed by a post-performance discussion with playwright Charlie Dupré, moderated by Daniel Brunet

Cynthia

A drag-puppet-theater spectacle about the world’s first non-human influencer from 1937

Cynthia was a model, an influencer, a socialite, a celebrity and a household name in the USA in 1937. But unlike other celebrities of her day, she was dismantled into pieces at the end of her day and stowed away in a body bag. Cynthia was a mannequin. Her creator, Lester Gaba, a window display designer in New York City, became her manager, puppeteer and chaperone. He escorted her to dinner clubs, theater premieres and fashion shows, as well as performing for her and responding to her adoring fans on her behalf.

Let this delightful fever dream of a show take you down the slippery slope from entertaining spectacle into the uncanny valley.

Featuring Berlin Drag King Alexander Cameltoe as Lester Gaba, with his world animated by an ensemble of puppeteers.

Letters From Chiran

Letters from Chiran is a piece of mask theater performed by Tomoya Kawamura, inspired freely by the historical facts of the last world war and the stories left behind by young Japanese soldiers at the local shokudo (canteen) just outside the military airbase of Chiran in southern Japan.

The play delicately reveals the difference of perspectives between the lives of ordinary people in the midst of a largely devastating war and those who lightly make the decision of joining a conflict, compromising the lives of millions in the name of false ideals and personal satisfaction.

In 1945, the pilots of the Japanese Special Attack Units, commonly known as kamikaze, would share some of their stories, hopes and dreams with the owner of the shokudo while having a meal or a green tea before beginning what was, for many of them, their final mission.

Thanks to the owner of the shokudo, some of their last letters were hidden from the military censorship. She secretly delivered them to pilots’ families once the war was over.

Letters from Chiran forces us to ask: is there any scenario where sacrifice like this is acceptable?

Parataxe – International Literature

A PARATAXE presentation featuring the BERLIN ASIA ARTS CLUB:

The art of building bridges with words – a reading with Dasom Young, Mui Pooposaksul & Christina Ng. A special literary evening in English spoken language with sections in Korean, Thai and Chinese, hosted by Martin Jankowski.

Eine Veranstaltung der PARATAXE in Zusammenarbeit mit dem BERLIN ASIA ARTS CLUB und dem ENGLISH THEATRE BERLIN | INTERNATION PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, gefördert von der Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt.

An event by PARATAXE in collaboration with the BERLIN ASIA ARTS CLUB and ENGLISH THEATRE BERLIN | INTERNATIONAL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, funded by Berlin’s Senate Department for Culture and Community.

Fest of Fools

The Fest of Fools is a festival that highlights humor as a medium in choreography, cultural practice and social
dialogue. Held over three days, the festival brings together five choreographers who utilize humor as a liberating cultural technique to address and clarify its systemic relevance, particularly during times of crisis.

Through five performances and one workshop, “Humor as a choreographic, aesthetic and political tool in cultural praxis” , the festival investigates humor as both a cultural and social phenomenon. The works presented aim to examine humor’s essential aspects and its cathartic function, exploring its potential to create distance, provoke thoughts and break societal boundaries. The festival seeks to present a variety of artistic expressions, using humor as a tool for critique and a catalyst for transformation.

Wednesday, May 14

8:00 pm Gats Surprise / Scapes of Landscape by Lukáš Karásek (tYhle collective)

Gats Surprise is a short solo trip of an elusive creature named Gats, originating from the world of the performance Scapes of Landscape by tYhle. Gats surprise not only the audience but also themselves in what they turn out to be. They have a large family, but suffer from loneliness. They are interested in Tarkovsky and comic books. They look completely different on the inside than they do on the outside, but no one knows how.

8:30pm The Trinity by Raul Vargas Torres

A choreographic cleansing journey, where daily kids-toys, music and actions take a hyperreal shape under the dual horizon of love and death, violence and emancipation, childhood and adulthood, father and mother. Unveiling the paradoxical resistance and violence of accepting to perform a role, in an imposed narrative, in which one is a byproduct or consequence of it. A performance which does not pretend to answer any question. A performance that happens at the friction between: what we imagine is happening and what is actually happening.

9:30pm Post-performance discussion

Thursday, May 15

10am Workshop: “Humor as a cultural, aesthetic and political tool in times of crisis” as part of the IETM plenary meeting (off-site, Studio 0/1 Gottlieb-Dunkel-Straße 30/32, 12099 Berlin) – to attend, please register HERE

8pm DEVOURER by Alica Minar & col.

One body, a bunch of black balls, a clear task and countless greed. A dance performance inspired by the principles of the clown fi gure and black hole theory. DEVOURER exists only to have. In a determined eff ort to take everything for its own, it absorbs light, inhales space and materializes time. Its transformation manifests gradually. A body of greed caught in action. How can the „self“ be maximized? Singularity. It’s a hypothetical point. „I am a star, I shine like a supernova…or have I become a black hole?“

9pm Post-performance discussion

Friday, May 16

8pm DauerDeviation (work-in-progress) by Kysy Fischer

The main goal of this work in progress is to develop a choreographic strategy of deviation in which the norms of movement are provoked and expanded. Kysy creates a chain of associations between movements, sounds and images. Thoughts, words and sentences deviate, taking new paths and constructing new meanings.

8:30pm ~~ha ha ha~~ hi!by Felix Baumann | Von B bis Z

In ~~ha ha ha~~ hi!a mediocre comedian attempts to tell a joke with a life-changing impact. However, he lacks the words or the right microphone setting for a real breakthrough. As he grapples with his shortcomings, he embraces absurdity, employing every tool at his disposal to create moments of comic folly.
The solo performance ~~ha ha ha~~ hi! blends dance, circus, physical comedy and object manipulation, and celebrates the art of joking, cheerful silliness, raw humor and the beauty of happy futility. It invites the audience into a world where minimalism meets eccentricity and playfull foolishness becomes profound.

9:30pm Post-performance discussion

Bowie in Berlin

8ight more performances of our successful SHOW

The second part of our series CONVERSATIONS WITH A CULTURAL ICON comes back again.

In the summer of 1976, pop star David Bowie moves from Los Angeles to Berlin. Why Berlin? Was he attracted by the mixture of Weimar nostalgia, isolated Wall city and niche location for the new music that would later be called Krautrock? In fact, he created radically new music in Berlin in the following two years, recorded both an anthem and a legendary album with `Heroes´, made a curious Weimar-era film with Just a Gigolo, and then disappeared into the pop-synthetic eighties.

“The musical concept of Grosser’s evening works brilliantly …. Just as Bowie’s musical, cinematic and fashionable work has lived from permanent transition and diversity of influence – ready to jump between Krautrock and Expressionism – so is this performance associative and fluid.” Patrick Wildermann / Tagesspiegel

Great review in Tagesspiegel, read it HERE

In 1987, Bowie returned to Berlin to give a concert in front of the Reichstag, a stone´s throw away from the Wall. East Berliners who came to the Brandenburger Tor to listen started shouting “Bring down the Wall” – the first domino in a series of many that led to the fall of the Wall?

Intelligent Movement

This special three-day event brings together dance, theater, writing, hip-hop and calligraphy! Dancers are invited to sign up and show what they’ve got in allstyle battles while the audience takes in panel discussions, jam sessions, battles and showcases!

Special Guest: Mhanna Letters

Amigo, who has long been exploring the connection between movement and writing,
will lead the event. Together with his friend Tako Baba, he has gained valuable experience
at the Funkin’ Stylez Festival paving the way for hip-hop theater.

Exhibition: Following the event, Bouzuqee Studio will present a small exhibition on the topic of dance & writing.

FRIDAY – BATTLE CULTURE

Topic: Battle Culture – Creative Exchange and the Exploration of New Spaces for Dance

Battle Culture is an important part of hip-hop culture, focusing not on competition, but instead on creative exchange, repartee and the experiencing of special moments. The goal is to discover new spaces together and bring the creativity to a new level.

Schedule of Events:

Hosted by Iman (Walashe)

6pm – Presentation by Saman Hamdi: Hip-Hop’s Organic Educators

A look at the philosophy and educational approaches that distinguish hip-hop culture.

6pm-7pm – Registration of the Dancers

Dancers can sign up to take part in the allstyle battles.

7pm – Cypher Jam with Music

Dancers are invited to show what they’ve got in an open format. The focus here is placed on creativity and spontaneity. The goal is to develop new ideas and support exchange. Seven dancers will be selected by the jury.

Judges & Panelists: Pez, Kupra, Penny K, Chica – J

Featuring DJ Peeps

7:45 pm – Locking Showcase

Featuring Cris, Penny K, Laura, Dani, Kupra, Philipp, Eylo & Amigo

8pm – Panel Discussion: Battle Culture: Souldance & Locking

With Penny K, Kupra, Penny, Chica – J & Amigo

Host: İman

This panel discussion will explore Japanese dance culture and the significance of souldance as well as the influence of Campbell locking on souldance and the global hip-hop community.

8:30 pm – Battles: 7 to Smoke Allstyle

Music by DJ Peeps

9pm – JAM with DJ Peeps

An open dance session with music by our DJ, offering a free space for creative expression.

10pm – End

SATURDAY – PERFORMANCE DAY

Many creative dancers are active in the battle scene. The performance session gives these creative minds a platform on stage. The session is open to all dancers who want to try out choreographies or concepts in front of an audience. Improvisation is just as welcome as a finished concept.

Schedule of Events:

7pm – Short Pieces by Berlin Dancers

Different dancers from Berlin present short choreographies that bring their dance style and personal stories to the stage.

Six short performances from Berlin & feedback from the audience

Hosted by Iman (Walashe)

With visuals by Geso

8:30 pm – Digital Calligraffiti Performance with Harshini, Mhanna Letters, Parole & Amigo

The Digital Calligraffiti project is initiated by Susa Pop | Public Art Lab and curated in cooperation
with Don Karl | From Here to Fame Publishing with the artist Michael Ang.

9pm – Panel Discussion: The Future of Theater with Harshini, Moe & Amigo

10pm – End

SUNDAY – Exhibition At the Bouzuqee Studio – 2pm

MOVEMENT & LETTERS

Works on paper by:

MINA / STOHEAD / MOSA87 / MHANNA / 2501 / PARİS URTEIL

PAROLE / THEOS / ZASD / ZEPHA / VINCENT GRUNWALD / AMIGO