Not everything has to be cast authentically. In Germany, most ensembles barely include Black actors. Perhaps the repertoire offers too few roles to justify full-time employment.
Ulrich Khuon, Deutsches Theater Berlin
Heimat, bittersüße HeimaT
Being German is hard.
Being Afro-German is even harder.
Label Noir presents:
“Heimat, bittersüße Heimat”
A theatrical evening. In five chapters.With music
It’s not just the skinhead with a baseball bat who takes a seat beside a Black woman on a park bench. It’s also the friendly elderly lady with a shopping bag who is pleasantly surprised by the “exotic” sight. But the new neighbour is even more delighted when the supposedly foreign woman on the bench speaks fluent German.
‘German is such a difficult language! The cases. The endings. But everything you say is just perfect! You don’t make a single mistake.’ says the elderly lady
‘Neither do you.’
‘You have a sense of humour! I like young people with a sense of humour. Of course, my German is flawless. I am German, after all.’
‘So am I.’
SYNOPSIS
Heimat, bittersüße Heimat explores the idea of home. This can be both real and imagined. It also explores the often fuzzy concept of multiculturalism. This is in a globalised society.
This identity drama emerges from the lived experience of (Afro-)German individuals as they negotiate their relationship with a country that is both theirs and not theirs, depending on the day.
More than just a retrospective or a mirror of the present, the piece looks to the future with humour, depth and honesty, but without moralising.
CAST
first cast
Jonathan AIKINS
Dela DABULAMANZI
Leander GRAF
Moses LEO
Lara-Sophie MILAGRO
Veronica NAUJOKS
Vanessa ROTTENBURG
second cast
Michelle BRAY
Felix FRENKEN
Gennifer HABBASCH
Sithembile MENCK
CREW
Script & Director
Lara-Sophie MILAGRO
additional Texts
Dela DABULAMANZI, Leander GRAF
costumes and make up
Ensemble
stage
Ensemble & Edem GAKPO
tech & media
Manuel GROSSE & Franz RODECK
Press
“A brilliant performance with a biting sense of humor –
deeply serious and explosively funny at the same time.”
— Dr. Johannes Bruggaier, Kreiszeitung Bremen
“The Afro-German actors caricature their roles with a hefty dose of situational comedy.” Yet within that comedy lurk uncomfortable truths. These are dialogues that verge on the absurd, situations that defy logic. They show how even well-meaning understanding can conceal unease and subtle prejudice.”
— Simone Kaempf, nachtkritik.de
“Many scenes will make you laugh – and then freeze. The play does not deal with the obvious racism of the far-right. But the ignorance of the supposedly enlightened.Even the left-leaning middle classes. The polite, politically correct veneer barely conceals its own discomfort.”
— Arianne Lemme, taz Berlin
TRAILER
