Arpentage
Theater (2023)
Staging
of a fictional meeting of the theatre collective
in the underwater world.
Special agenda item: Survey of the essay «Gojnormativität. Warum wir über Antisemitismus sprechen müssen» (Gojnormativity: Why We Must Talk About Antisemitism) by Judith Coffey and Vivien Laumann
In December 2021, Ketty Ghnassia reads the essay «Gojnormativität. Warum wir über Antisemitismus sprechen müssen» by Judith Coffey and Vivien Laumann. The theoretical language of the two queer-feminist scholars strikes her like poetry, and she feels an existential need to share the text verbatim with others. The massacre of October 7, 2023, and Israel’s murderous military response have only intensified this urgency.
The starting point of the performance is a fictional meeting of the theatre collective, within which the method of arpentage is adapted for the stage and carried out together with the audience. The text becomes a space of resonance, in which engagement with antisemitism unfolds both sensually and critically.
That five days before the premiere the actor Yan Balistoy accused Theater Neumarkt of discriminating against him because of his Israeli origin is purely coincidental. However, the performance addresses this event in its own way and incorporates it into the collective exploration.
of a fictional meeting of the theatre collective
in the underwater world.
Special agenda item: Survey of the essay «Gojnormativität. Warum wir über Antisemitismus sprechen müssen» (Gojnormativity: Why We Must Talk About Antisemitism) by Judith Coffey and Vivien Laumann
In December 2021, Ketty Ghnassia reads the essay «Gojnormativität. Warum wir über Antisemitismus sprechen müssen» by Judith Coffey and Vivien Laumann. The theoretical language of the two queer-feminist scholars strikes her like poetry, and she feels an existential need to share the text verbatim with others. The massacre of October 7, 2023, and Israel’s murderous military response have only intensified this urgency.
The starting point of the performance is a fictional meeting of the theatre collective, within which the method of arpentage is adapted for the stage and carried out together with the audience. The text becomes a space of resonance, in which engagement with antisemitism unfolds both sensually and critically.
That five days before the premiere the actor Yan Balistoy accused Theater Neumarkt of discriminating against him because of his Israeli origin is purely coincidental. However, the performance addresses this event in its own way and incorporates it into the collective exploration.
Credits
Artistic Direction:Ketty Ghnassia and Timo Krstin
Artistic Collaboration:
Noah Engweiler (krilp)
By and with:
The Theatre Collective
Set Design and Costumes:
Maude Villiumier
Production Management:
Lukas Kubik
Supported by:
City of Zurich Culture, Migros Kulturprozent, Cassinelli-Vogel Foundation, Ernst Göhner Foundation, Corymbo Foundation
A production of cie la mêlée in co-production with Konzeptbüro, Rote Fabrik, and in cooperation with Theater Neumarkt
Special thanks to Sophie Kreyer and Anna Sophie Mahler and the project «memo von nemo – nachrichten aus der tiefe» for lending their scenography
About the process-based theatre work ARPENTAGE
Arpentage — roughly translated as « surveying » or « mapping » — is a practice that combines the proletarian reading circle with political action. It originated within the socialist movement in France, where workers’ associations and trade unions were looking for ways to educate themselves politically together without slipping into academic inertia. Reading was meant to function as empowerment at the same time: a tool for shaping political reality.Related links