Line of Escape

Posted by Maite

In better times you make way to freedom, in less fortunate times you cut the way for survival. In any case, it is worth learning and walking your line. 

For this performance our partners researched Budapest memories of World War II with 10 young people through the personal memories of 5 storytellers. In the framework of the site-specific performance entitled ‘Line of Escape’, they invite the audience to a site-specific theatrical memory interpretation in the neighbourhood of Pozsonyi Road, the area of the former ‘international ghetto’.

Clover Fields

Posted by Maite

The year 2025; 80 years since the end of the war. The young generation asks: what does it mean for us? Witnesses are remembering, young artists are listening and creating. What is created when the past meets its future? Come and explore the boundaries of memory, art and identity.

It Was Somehow, It Will Be Somehow 

Posted by Maite

Italians are loud and passionate, Germans are cold and precise, Brits are conservative and snobbish – and Slovaks are hospitable and…? Do we have unjustified prejudices about our own history, or is every stereotype a reflection of some deeper truth? A group of young actors experiments, performs, and seeks to uncover the essence of Slovak identity. Does it have roots in the past, or are we continuously creating it here and now?

This performance looks at these questions with the theatre group Štyria z paiteho ročníka  (meaning Four from the Fifth Year). The group formed in a simple yet meaningful way: they graduated last year and decided to continue their studies in musical and dramatic arts at the conservatory this year. During their search for a theme, form, and content for the upcoming school year, this topic unexpectedly presented itself. Yet, they don’t believe in coincidences.

I STAND STILL and (get) move(d)

Posted by Rinke Brans

In this performance the ACADEMY is looking at stories of women and girls during the Second World War who were imprisoned in Ravensbrück, the largest women’s concentration camp in Germany. Inspired by this search, they will create a performance for January 27. Based on a trip to Ravensbrück, workshops, and encounters that they hosted in November 2024, the performance I STAND STILL and (get) move(d) will combine dance, literature, visual art, and performing art.

Darkened

Posted by Maite

Mørklagt er sceniske bearbejdninger af 5 vidners beretninger fra krigen og besættelsens tid i Danmark. Billedliggjorte refleksioner over krigens dilemmaer store som små. Overgivelse eller kamp. Stå op for sine værdier eller gemme sig. Gøre modstand, gribe til våben eller vente tavst i mørket.

Foto af Peter Blæsild.

‘HOPE’ HOTEL

Posted by Maite

Le Carceri Nuove di Torino furono occupate dai tedeschi dopo l’8 settembre 1943 insieme ad altri punti nevralgici della città. Dal «braccio tedesco» che accoglieva prigionieri politici, partigiani, ebrei e spesso civiili arrestati per rappresaglia, si usciva per affrontare due destini la fucilazione o la deportazione. Nell’isolato in cui sorge il Carcere Le Nuove fino al 1943 esisteva un piccolo albergo: l’Albergo Speranza, distrutto durante i bombardamenti.

Immaginate una notte di inverno un viaggiatore che cammina nella nebbia  con in mano un bigliettino con l’indirizzo dell’Albergo… Chi glielo ha dato? Cosa troverà?

Raccogliendo i racconti di allora ci siamo chiesti che cosa resta quando anche la Speranza è bombardata e siamo andati a cercare  i «punti luminosi» momenti, esperienze e incontri che brillano e permettono di brillare anche quando intorno tutto è oscuro.

Foto di Antonio Bertusi.

Today, Tomorrow, The Day After Tomorrow

Posted by Maite

During the last two months, a group of young people with the facilitation of trainers from STOP-KLATKA met elderly people, survivors from the Second World War, and their relatives. In the stories, youngsters searched for their “living questions”. What are the situations in the past that can happen nowadays as well? Where do we see oppression in our life? What is our responsibility in those situations?

Design by Karolina Sienkowska.
Our Unforgettable Stories © Marcin Mikołajczak

Our Unforgettable Stories © Marcin Mikołajczak

Our Unforgettable Stories © Marcin Mikołajczak

Theatre of Memory

Posted by Maite

Inspired by conversations with older residents of their city, the kids group of Teatr Brama creates a performance about the second world war, the relocation of Polish people in the Pomeranian region and the childhood in the after-war town of Goleniów.

Photo by Norbert Wojtysiak
Photo by Norbert Wojtysiak.

Achter de Façade

Posted by Maite

‘Achter de façade’ is een voorstelling die de verhalen van de mensen vertelt die tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog in Kamp Westerbork verbleven. Het doorgangskamp op de Drentse hei was van 1942 tot 1945 het vertrekpunt voor meer dan 107.000 Joden, Sinti en Roma die vanuit hier naar de vernietigingskampen in het Oosten werden gedeporteerd. Slechts 5000 mensen hebben dit kunnen navertellen.

Kamp Westerbork was bijzonder vanwege de schijnwerkelijkheid die er werd gecreëerd: hoewel de bewoners van het kamp in sommige opzichten een ‘normaal’ leven leken te kunnen voortzetten, was het leven er ook getekend door angst en de onzekerheid van het naderende transport. Te midden van dit rookgordijn, klonk muziek. ‘Achter de façade’ reflecteert op deze dualiteit en laat enkele verhalen van Westerbork herleven. 

Na de eerdere Theater na de Dam voorstellingen ‘Het zijn onze jongens’ en ‘Vrij en Vast’ werkt de vooropleiding van Garage TDI dit jaar in het kader van Theatre of Remembrance met een grotere groep jonge spelers en in samenwerking met het Noord Nederlands Orkest (NNO). De voorstelling is het resultaat van een intensief onderzoeksproces, waarbij de makers samen met de spelers de verhalen van de kampbewoners zorgvuldig hebben bestudeerd. Deze samenwerking tussen jonge theatermakers en professionele musici brengt enkele verhalen van de slachtoffers en de gebeurtenissen in het kamp tot leven op de historische locatie zelf.

Zoals Onder Water

Posted by Maite

Met welke gedachte of vraag begint het gevoel dat er iets niet klopt? Wat is het moment waarop je deze gedachte omzet in een daad? 

In deze voorstelling gaan we op zoek naar wat verzet is, hoe klein dit kan blijven of hoe groot het kan groeien. En wat als je alleen toekijkt? 

We gaan met nabestaanden in gesprek over wat Amsterdamse vrouwen deden die in verzet kwamen tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Welke schakels er nodig waren om met gebundelde kracht één kind in veiligheid te brengen? We kijken naar de positie van vrouwen toen, wat hun beperkingen waren en ook hoe vrouwen gebruik konden maken van het feit dat ze vaak werden onderschat.

Welke moed en angst schuilt er in ons zelf om te voelen dat iets niet klopt en iets te zeggen of te doen als dat nodig is?

Photograph by Hilde Harshagen; Model Abigail Lamptey