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.
About Ballhaus Naunynstrasse:
The Ballhaus Naunynstrasse is a typical Berlin ballroom dating back to the 19th Century, and
since its extensive restoration in 1983 it has been a popular and unique venue in the heart of
the district of Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain. Since 2008 (The European Year of Intercultural
Dialogue), the Ballhaus Naunynstrasse has established itself as a theatre with a very distinct
approach. Dubbing itself as young postmigrant theatre, it deals with the situation of ethnic
plurality that has increasingly left imprints on the various spheres of cultural industry, both
mainstream and avant-garde.
The new artistic director Shermin Langhoff has succeeded in bringing to the Ballhaus a broad
range of works created by a second and third generation of artists like filmmakers Fatih Akın,
Mıraz Bezar, Neco Çelik and Hakan Savas Mican, choreographers Wagner Carvalho de
Pereira, Modjgan Hashemian and Kadir Memis, internationally renowned young theatre
directors Nuran David Calis, Nurkan Erpulat and Michael Ronen, actress Idil Üner, novelist
Feridun Zaimoglu, rap star Ceza and many others, thus combining genres and
transnational/translocal contexts. While the focus remains on theatre productions, the
programming also reflects the most recent developments in dance, film, music and literature
SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCES:
BALLHAUS NAUNYNSTRASSE
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
This is not a Performance Space 122 presentation.