AESTHETICS OF SOLIDARITY

KURINGA FORUM THEATRE FESTIVAL – Art | Activism | Action 

video by Nussknagger

13.-19. September 2021, Uferstudios, Berlin-Wedding

The KURINGA Forum Theatre Festival is an international space for dialogue in which artists perform images of their reality, audiences share ideas to transform that reality and through aesthetic means all together search for alternatives for building solidarity. 

After a long pandemic, we wanted to celebrate Art | Activism | Action and reconnect our communities and networks. We envision the creation of spaces where we can exercise dialogue in a polarized world, – a world, where many topics are abusively politicized and the practice of fake news and blatant lies is spreading right-wing populism while empowering white supremacy and toxic masculinities. We intend to stimulate and develop interactivity in theatre, in order to: connect art and politics and spread messages of solidarity.

The Festival was also the celebration of the 10th anniversary of KURINGA – space for Theatre of the Oppressed in Berlin – which through its Qualification Programme, and connection with local theatre groups and several networks, has developed a powerful international community. Local and international theatre groups will bring Forum Theatre Plays that approach the concept of solidarity based on their social experiences and concrete political struggles in order to dialogue with the Festival audience to rehearse concrete actions through theatrical interaction. A KURINGA international cast produced a play called Signs of Solidarity facing the question “What does solidarity look like after the pandemic?” for the Festival’s opening.

The KURINGA Forum Theatre Festival proposes to break down the barrier between stage and audience through collective interventions, stimulating spectators to come together and search for strategies to overcome the oppression represented on stage.

We were delighted by the presence of Pas a Passo (France) together with Metoca (Guatemala) and their forum piece about sexual harassment at work ” Je ne suis pas là puor ça”; Magdalena Granada (Spain) with” Tirititrans” talking about transphobia; Active Inquiry (Edinburgh) presenting “Not mad enough”, an experiment between on-site and online performance; the presentation of the feminist theatre of the oppressed project “Feminist aesthetics for poetics politic” by an international Ma(g)dalena cast presenting the piece “Noises of Silence”. They , together with the local groups Wir Sind hier!, Sabotage Theatre Collective, Masculinities Lab and Theater der Verrückten, successfully managed to make the festival a space in which to discuss with the public diverse themes, approached from the richness of the aesthetics of the oppressed.

Beside the theatre presentations, the Festival Programme included a Street Parade, a Theatre Symposium, Dramaturgical Laboratories (based on plays from the festival) and sessions to share practical experiences.