Die Kränkungen der Menschheit

A production by Anta Helena Recke with the Münchner Kammerspiele in co-production with HAU Hebbel am Ufer (Berlin), Kampnagel (Hamburg) and Künstlerhaus Mousonturm (Frankfurt)

World premiere 26 September 2019 (Munich)

Die Kränkungen der Menschheit. Joana Tischkau, Vincent Redetzki, ensemble © Gabriela Neeb

Anta Helena Recke examines the theatre in its foundations as a viewing institution that manages to question not only our own perception but also our construction of reality by openly juxtaposing signs and designations.

Programme Brochure for “Die Kränkungen der Menschheit”

How often do we think about the mechanisms of our perception, about what the way that we look at and interpret things may say about our own viewing habits and imprints? In this almost contemplative production, Anta Helena Recke creates three staged experimental set-ups that are open to interpretation and where images, sounds and movements play the starring role. Among other issues, the show deals with a reflection on our own gaze and the notions that constitute humanity. And, not least, with rethinking the theatre as the art of looking.

Statement of the Jury

Anta Helena Recke adds another “Humiliation of Mankind” to the three previously noted by Sigmund Freud (1. Mankind descends from the apes; 2. The sun is the centre of the universe; 3. People are at the mercy of their unconscious mind): White European men are not the paragons of mankind after all. With her criticism of White Supremacy, the director prompts her audience to reflect on their own views and associated patterns of decoding. In the setting of an art museum, a painting is re-enacted and a different picture is discussed among a group of visitors. This largely meditative performance presents a sublime scrutiny of viewing norms and thereby patterns of reception and representation. Recke touches on several post-colonial discourses – from restitution to white normative thinking, applying unusual energetic devices of presence and absence.

Cast

Concept & Director Anta Helena Recke
Concept & Artistic Collaborators Anna Froelicher, Maxi Menja Lehmann
Stage Design Carlo Siegfried
Costume Design Pola Kardum
Music Luca Mortellaro
Lighting Design Joscha Eckert
Dramaturgy Valerie Göhring
Research Marja Christians, Chiara Galesi
Production Olaf Nachtwey, Johanna J. Thomas

Choreography, Text, Performance
Ariane Andereggen, Jean Chaize, Noah Donker, Sir Henry, Kinan Hmeidan, Mario Lopes, Lara-Sophie Milagro, Benjamin Radjaipour, Vincent Redetzki, Joana Tischkau, Else Tunemyr, Samuel Iatã Vieira da Silva Hölzl, Hayato Yamaguchi

Canay Altin, Abida Arifi, Belkisa Arifi,Jeanne-Francine Aziamble, Lilliane Lakabre Blessing, Tracey Adele Cooper, Lendita Daffeh, Sinthiou Dia, Rebecca Duverger-Fischer, Amie Georgson Jammeh, Kathrin Knöpfle, Ivy Lißack, Prisca Mbawala, Seggen Mikael, Elisa Nadal, Liza Noori, Cintia Rangel Martins, Gaba Sahory Reyes Baca, Jucilene Santos Costa, Janine Schmidt, Siri Fatou Seidl, Aya Sone, Lea Tesfaye, Roula Ukkeh, Awa Wassa, Jane Zentgraf

Gong Leon Frei

Die Kränkungen der Menschheit. Mario Lopes, Samuel Lopes, Hayato Yamaguchi, Jean Chaize, Joana Tischkau, Else Tunemyr

© Gabriela Neeb

Funded by the Cultural Department of the City of Munich and the Fonds Darstellende Künste