Program
8 premieres under the heading COMMON SENSES shift perspectives and reflect the status quo of our social interactions. Guests from philosophy and science stimulate our thinking with impulses. You can also expect a “kiosk of unfulfilled wishes”, a floating light-space installation, bar, music, DJs and appetizers in the Discourse Kitchen.
Audience members can experience several short monologues and specials in close succession each evening – we recommend day tickets for the best festival experience.
In addition to the festival trailer, you can find Byung-Chul Han’s opening speech as a video as well as selected press reviews of the festival here.
9 Nov
10 Nov
11 Nov
12 Nov
16 Nov
17 Nov
The performances of “My Threatening Poem” within the framework of the Monologue Festival do not take place.
After an exchange of positions with those involved in the production, we as the festival curators have made the decision not to present the performances of “My Threatening Poem” as part of the Monologue Festival on November 16 + 17, 2023.
In view of the events of 07 October 2023, the brutal attack of Hamas on civilians in Israel, and the associated escalation of the political and humanitarian situation, whose dimensions and developments are not foreseeable, from our point of view the context in which the production would be received has changed significantly.
A space for those negotiations and questions, which we wanted to stimulate and pose with this project and still find important, we cannot facilitate in a protected and appropriate way at this time. Also, the artistic team of the production is currently no longer completely available for a continuation of the project. We hope to be able to continue an exchange about the positions addressed by the project of the production at a later date and believe that a theater stage can be a place for this.
We hope for dialogue, understanding among people and peace. And we are at the side of all those who are interested in a humanity-oriented solution, who act and work, think and speak towards it.
Janette Mickan and Michael Müller
Curators of the Monologue Festival
(10 / 16 / 2023)
original announcement text
From an autobiographical perspective, this solo tells the case of a Palestinian poet who writes a poem about resistance, posts it on social media, and finds herself in an Israeli prison. It shows the power and limits of common sense, the influence of interpretation and context, and the repercussions on the immediate reality of individuals’ lives.
Dareen Tatour is arrested in 2015 without knowing why. Only in custody does she realize what she is threatened with: the Israeli authorities accuse her of inciting violence and supporting terrorism. Judges interpret her poem. She is subsequently sentenced to five months in prison and placed under house arrest. The case of Dareen Tatour caused an international sensation. PEN spoke out strongly for her release. Questions about artistic freedom, “unambiguity” and the expression of resistance stand here against the background of the history of Israel/Palestine.
“My Threatening Poem” is Dareen Tatour’s autobiographical reappraisal of her time in prison and the trial, but also a reflection on art as resistance. The author speaks of humiliations and fears, but also of solidarity and cohesion. Her text, now presented in German for the first time, is self-empowering and yet fragile, combative, and vulnerable in equal measure.
The actress Lamis Ammar wants to give Palestinians a voice that is rarely shown and heard. In collaboration with director Helge Schmidt, she approaches the autobiographical narrative Tatours and connects it with her own life reality as a Palestinian performer in Berlin.
Lamis Ammar studied at the University of Haifa in the Department of Theatre & Acting. During her studies she worked at the Freedom Theatre in Jenin (Palestine) and played among others the leading role in the film “Sand Storm”, winner of the Sundance Festival and invited to the Berlinale. She writes her own texts and makes video installations for galleries in Haifa. She was, among others, a member of the ensemble of Yael Ronen’s “Third Generation - Next Generation” at the Gorki Theater Berlin and played in Helge Schmidt’s “Dat Leven vun de Liven” at the Lichthof Theater Hamburg.
Dareen Tatour is a Palestinian poet, playwright, photographer, and political, feminist, and social media activist. She graduated with degrees in engineering, programming, media, and film directing. Through writing and photography, Tatour has sought to negotiate injustices faced by Palestinians. In particular, she encourages Palestinian women to speak out about their experiences of abuse and human rights violations.
Helge Schmidt studied theater, psychology and modern German literature in Munich and works as a freelance director at various theaters. His production “Weltverbesserungstheater” at the theater Erlangen was nominated as the outstanding production of the season in the German Stage critics’ poll. The “Cum-Ex Papers” received the German theater prize DER FAUST. Further investigative theater works such as “Tax for free” and “Die Krebsmafia” will be followed by the premiere of “Wem gehört das Land” (AT) at TD Berlin in February 2024.
With Lamis Ammar Text Dareen Tatour Direction Helge Schmidt Idea Lamis Ammar Coproduction TD Berlin - Monologfestival 2023 The Monologfestival is supported by the four-year festival funding of the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion Berlin
18 Nov
19 Nov
