With May and Nietzsche through wild Kurdistan

Four escapades

An author-theater-project by fringe ensemble and nexus – Kurdish-German theater network

Texts by Volker Lüdecke, Mirza Metin, Wajiha Said and Katharina Schlender

Scenic reading

With Bilal Bulut, Alan Ciwan, David Fischer, Philip Schlomm,
Live music Metin Yilmaz, Ozan Tekin
Director Andreas Meidinger
Space and costumes Annika Ley
Public Relations, Dramaturgy Claudia Grönemeyer
Assistance Jennifer Merten

Premiere
25. September 2020, Theater im Ballsaal, Bonn

Additional performances
26. September 2020

What do Karl May and Friedrich Nietzsche have to do with each other? The one can be considered one of the first pop stars of world literature with editions such as that of Harry Potter author Rawlings, while the other is one of the pioneers of postmodernism with “The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music” and his World Without God. As different as their peers were, there are still a few similarities: both had a strong sense of mission, were Saxons, mustachioed, and used Kurdish culture (and landscapes) to tell their stories and visions in their works (“Durchs wilde Kurdistan” and “Also sprach Zarathustra”).

The short pieces that the German and Kurdish authors Volker Lüdecke, Mirza Metin, Wajiha Said and Katharina Schlender have written for this project reflect, from their perspective and in extremely different forms, the confrontation with those great protagonists of trivial literature on the one hand and philosophy on the other.

We present these theater texts in a staged reading in a Kurdish-German ensemble.

Bi May û Nietzscheyî ra di Kurdistana Dirinde ra
Çar serpêhatî

Gelo çi pêwendîya Karl May û Friedrich Nietzsche bi hevûdin ra heye? Yek ji wan bi çapên pirtûkên xwe dikare mîna nivîskara Harry Potter Rowlings yek ji popstarên wêjeya cîhanê yên herî pêşîn bê hesibandin; di wê hingê da yê din bi pirtûka xwe ya “Zayîna Tragedyayê ji Giyana Mûzîkê” û bi cîhana xwe ya bê Xwedêyî yek ji pêşengên postmodernê tê jimartin. Her çiqas ev temenhempa wisa ji hevûdin cihê bûn jî, wan çend taybetmendîyên hevpar jî diparastin: Her du jî xwedîyê hesteka xurt a peyamhinêrîyê bûn, Saksonî bûn, xwedîyê simbêlî bûn û di berhemên xwe da (“Di Kurdistana Dirinde ra” û ” Bi Vî Awayî Axivî Zerduşt” çanda (û cih û warên) Kurdan bi kar anîn, da ku çîrok û vîzyonên xwe vebêjin.

Lîstikên kurt, yên ku nivîskarên Alman û Kurd Volker Lüdecke, Mirza Metin, Wajiha Said û Katharina Schlender ji bo vê projeyê nivîsandine, ji bergehên xwe û bi awayekî yekser cihêreng danûstandina bi wan lehengên mezin ên wêjeya bigelemperî li alîyekî û yên felsefeyê li aliyekî din didin der.

Photos: Tanja Evers