{"id":127,"date":"2019-12-29T09:10:16","date_gmt":"2019-12-29T09:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/?p=127"},"modified":"2023-03-15T11:38:31","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T11:38:31","slug":"german-theatre-interventions-and-transformations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/20\/german-theatre-interventions-and-transformations\/","title":{"rendered":"German Theatre: Interventions and Transformations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Azadeh Sharifi<\/strong>*<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Epicentre and Its Eruption<\/strong> <\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Abstract<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The past years have brought eruptive changes and transformation to the German theatre scene. Recent waves of migration, the #metoo movement and the political climate of the rise of far-right-parties have demanded serious action that were accompanied by protests and interventions. In this national report, the focus is on actions and measurements that have been taken in recent years to overcome the underrepresentation of diversity in its various forms, especially women (of colour) in leading artistic positions; and how the German theatre scene has stepped up in the political discourse to fight the division of the country.
Keywords<\/strong>: #metoo, Germany, migration, far-right movement, diversity, feminism, postmigrant theatre<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as an earthquake is long in the making but begins\nwith little\u2014or no\u2014 warning, this year\u2019s announcement of the selection for the\nBerliner Theatertreffen festival (which encompasses ten of the most remarkable\ntheatre productions of 2018) caused a major outcry. Only three of the ten\nproductions were directed by women and only one of the ten directors was a\nperson of colour, representing the diversity of German post-migrant society.[1]<\/sup><\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The jury of Berliner Theatertreffen reacted to the outcry with a public statement, explaining that their decision was based on the \u201cfact\u201d that there weren\u2019t many productions directed by women that were aesthetically inspiring.  Furthermore, they claimed that there were no distinguished productions representing current debates on diversity in German theatre.[2]<\/sup><\/a> Their statement caused further criticism and led to mockery on social media, exposing the arguments against female artists and artists of colour as one of the essential tropes within the German theatre world, where the (white) male artist is ultimately perceived as a genius and where the male gaze dictates what is considered to be \u201daesthetically inspiring\u201d theatre, despite the fact that in the jury five of the seven theatre critics are women. <\/p>\n\n\n

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The artistic director of Berliner Theatertreffen, Yvonne B\u00fcdenh\u00f6lzer<\/a>. Photo: Christoph Neumann <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

However, in contrast to the protests and interventions\nof past years, this year\u2019s controversy had direct consequences, becoming the\ncatalyst for real action. A week after the protests, the artistic director of Berliner\nTheatertreffen, Yvonne B\u00fcdenh\u00f6lzer, announced a quota system for the coming\nnext three years, in which at least 50 percent of the selection should include\nfemale directors. B\u00fcdenh\u00f6lzer herself has become highly vocal regarding gender\ninequalities in recent years. Furthermore, in somewhat more modest, and often\nunsuccessful endeavours, she has attempted to transform the most recognised and\ntraditional German theatre festival into a more open, diverse and inclusive\nspace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact that measures need to be taken to overcome an\nopaque system of inequality and exclusion is still opposed by some people, who\nfear that the freedom of art could be threatened by a political agenda. Indeed,\nthere are more and more interventions\u2014albeit from the right wing and populist\ngroups and parties with a nationalistic and chauvinistic mind-set\u2014aiming to\nrestrict the German theatre world and to preserve an imaginary\nethno-nationalist German culture. Therefore, it would be insufficient to see\nthe events surrounding Berliner Theatertreffen 2019 as isolated, singular and\nspecific. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The eruption had much more behind it: the response was dramatic because the historical backstory was so strong and overpowering that the people involved could literally no longer stay in their seats. It\u2019s often difficult to see the benefit of such eruptive events at the time, but with hindsight these cataclysmic events can be understood as transformational, much like theatre itself. And they represent the epitome of recent interventions and transformations in German theatre, considering that some of the debates have been around for years, or even decades. And they are finally bearing much needed fruit. Just as a good play has many different storylines that are intertwined, so too does the backstory to this particular debate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Underrepresentation of Women in German Theatre <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

One important line of the backstory is the underrepresentation of female artists in German theatre. According to Deutscher Kulturrat, <\/em>only 22 percent of German artistic directors are female, just 30 percent of the productions are directed by women and a mere 24 percent of the staged plays are written by female authors (see here<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statistics haven\u2019t changed much in the past 20 years, and gender inequality is often accompanied by sexism, sexual harassment and sexual assault (see here<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The #MeToo<\/a> movement, which was initiated by Tarana Burke in 2006 in the U.S. and went viral globally in October 2017, had a huge impact on Germany and on German theatre. Just prior to this, in the summer of 2017, the journal Merkur<\/em> invited young female authors and artists to write about their experiences of sexism and sexual harassment at universities and art schools, especially within programmes for playwrights. This occurred after a student anonymously wrote about an incident at the Literaturinstitut Leipzig<\/a>. One article in particular, in which the author dared to question the specific relationship that occurred between male professors and some female students during her time on the writing programme, provoked a highly controversial and extremely heated debate.[3]<\/sup><\/a> But the tone and setting of the debate finally changed in the autumn of that year with the #MeToo movement, as more and more female artists became publicly vocal about their experiences, which led to the foundation of groups and initiatives like Initiative f\u00fcr Solidarit\u00e4t im Theater<\/a> and Theater.Frauen and Pro Quote B\u00fchne<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThe art remains free\u201d \u2014 Die Vielen demonstration in Berlin. 19 \u039cay 2019. Photo: Die Vielen e.V.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The initiative Theater.Frauen, under the leadership of\nthe artistic director of Schauspiel Bonn, Nicola Bramkamp, and organised in\nMarch 2018, featured an event entitled \u201cBurning Issues,\u201d which examined working\nconditions for female artists in German theatre. Over 350 female theatre\nartists participated. In their resolution, they demanded a higher\nrepresentation of female leaders in German theatres. The media covered the\nevents that came after the initial meeting and public interest led to wider\ndiscussion. Within the last two years, more and more women have been nominated\nas artistic directors of city and state theatres. And there are further demands\nto transform the hierarchical system and leadership in German theatre, making\nit more transparent and diverse; this proposal has been taken up not only in\nGerman theatres but also in the German speaking countries. Two Zurich theatres,\nTheater Neumarkt and Gessnerallee Z\u00fcrich, have nominated two teams of three\nwomen,[4]<\/sup><\/a>\nall of whom are under the age of 40. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond White German theatre  <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

While the\nfounding of Ballhaus Naunynsstrasse and its post-migrant theatre[5]<\/sup><\/a>\nin 2008 was a crucial moment for the representation of Germany\u2019s diverse\nsociety, it was also a departure point for many young artists of colour and\nartists of second, third or even fourth generation of immigrants to flood the\nGerman theatre scene, which had been, until then, largely white-dominated. And\nafter Shermin Langhoff became the artistic director of the Maxim Gorki Theatre\nBerlin in 2015 more and more marginalised groups and communities became engaged\nin the German theatre. This has not only brought more artists to German stages\nbut has also changed the discourse around theatre and performance. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Julia Wissert: the first black female artistic director of a German city theatre. Photo: instagram.com\/juliawissert<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Additionally,\nthe acknowledgement of Germany\u2019s colonial crimes[6]<\/sup><\/a>\nby the German government and the re-evaluation of its traces and objects have\namplified postcolonial discourses within (highly selective) fields of German\nsociety. In recent years, postcolonial discourses and intersectionality have\ngrown into an important issue that has been addressed by venues and production\nhouses on the independent scene like Kampnagel Hamburg, Mousonturm Frankfurt,\nHebbel am Ufer Berlin and Sophiens\u00e4le. Postcolonialism has also become a topic\nat Berliner Theatertreffen, where, in 2015, the discourse programme carried the\numbrella theme \u201cWer sind wir in der wei\u00dfen Welt?\u2014Theater und Postkolonialismus\u201d\n(\u201cWho Are We in a White World?\u2014Theatre And Postcolonialism\u201d).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, the diversification has led to the appointment of the first black female artistic director of a German city theatre. Julia Wissert is a trained theatre director from the renowned Theatre Academy Mozarteum Salzburg.<\/em> From 2020, she will be the designated artistic director of Theater Dortmund (see here<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another major but controversial subject that has been connected with Wissert is the jurisdictional challenge of structural racism within theatre. In collaboration with lawyer Sonja Lassert, she has established an anti-racism clause<\/a>, which can be added as part of individual or collective theatre contracts. The clause, based on the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, <\/em>takes the form of a fundamental tool that can hold employers accountable within the slippery structure of systemic racism. While some leaders in the German theatre field support these legal actions, most theatre makers who are not affected by racism fear that they could be held accountable for \u201cunintended\u201d discriminatory acts.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beside the representation of diversity of ethnicity\nand race, German theatre has become more aware of its ableism on stages, where\nperformers are not enabled or, worse still, are excluded through different\nforms of non-accessibility. While multi-abled and neurodiverse theatre\ncompanies like Tikwa Theater and Theater RambaZamba have been producing art for\ndecades, the representation of disabled people within the main theatre stages\nis still rare and\/or has been labelled as \u201cspecial.\u201d Breaking the mould since\n2015, under the leadership of Karsten Wiegand, Staatstheater Darmstadt has\nengaged disabled and neurodiverse actors and actresses as part of its regular\nensemble. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political Responsibilities and the Threat to Freedom of\nthe Arts <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the events that have shaken up the German\ntheatre scene most profoundly (namely, the arrival of significant numbers of\nmigrants and refugees in recent years) have, unfortunately, been accompanied by\nthe rise of the far-right and right-wing populist movements. In the summer of\n2015, around half a million migrants and refugees entered Germany. Angela\nMerkel\u2019s famous statement \u201cWir schaffen das!\u201d (\u201cWe can do it!\u201d), which she\nproclaimed after other European countries closed their borders, spurred hope and\nsocial division. The majority of German society welcomed the people who had\nfled war and many other forms of oppression. The so-called Willkommenskultur<\/em>\n(Welcoming culture) saw most Germans, and most German theatres, assist the\nnewly arriving people.[7]<\/sup><\/a>\nMany theatres opened their doors for people to sleep in, to eat in or just to\nhave contact with Germans. They offered language courses and accompanied\nrefugees through their asylum court cases. Many started art and social\nengagement project in the camps. Some theatre companies, such as the Maxim\nGorki Theatre and Kammerspiele M\u00fcnchen, created entire ensembles with refugee\nactors. The so-called \u201cmigration crisis\u201d also led also to more open\nconversations about artistic and political duties, public funded arts buildings\nand the undertaking of personal responsibilities, in the face of nationalist\nand fascist movements that are now threatening German society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Video<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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