as part of IMPULSE THEATER FESTIVAL 2023

08.06. – 18.06.2023

The Impulse Theatre Festival has been the most important platform for the independent performing arts in the German-speaking countries for more than 30 years. We will be hosting the SHOWCASE this year, presenting the productions selected by the jury at the FFT and at various other locales throughout Düsseldorf.

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Müller / Gurrola / Diallo / Selimović

JUSTITIA! IDENTITY CASES

Court drama Theatre & Performance
Justitia_ChristineMiess_PRINT_141.JPG

Can it be an advantage to belong to a group that faces discrimination? For some jobs and subsidies, yes. But matters become heated when people from the majority community claim to be part of a group facing discrimination. Is that a case for the courts? Or the online pillory? And what is at stake in the theatre? Four activists discuss these questions in a fast-paced show about the relationship between theatre, court and social media.

A tweet reveals an Indigenous activist to be a white woman from a rich family. Is she allowed to claim to be something she is not? Not only did she deceive the Indigenous community, she also received grant funding that was earmarked for marginalised voices. ‘JUSTITIA!’ looks at what is and is not fair in a variety of show formats such as a court-room drama and a musical, in a TV news feature and in Twitter posts that bombard the audience from video walls. The performers continually swap roles: sometimes they will appear as activists, then as court-room figures ranging from the accused to the judge. What is real in all this, and what is only fiction?

At least the case of the fake Indigenous woman appears to be clear. But what about the activist, a trans man, who applied as a woman in a process that had a female quota, even though his transition was complete? And if gender boundaries are gradually dissolving, does the same apply to race? This is a show with no easy answers. And that’s why identity politics have rarely been as much fun as they are here.

reviews

cast

Concept, Performance: Gin Müller, Performance: Edwarda Gurrola, Mariama Nzinga Diallo, Sandra Selimović, Dramaturgy, Direction: Gin Müller, Natalie Ananda Assmann, Selina Shirin Stritzel, Andreas Fleck, Visuals: Sabine Marte, Sound/Music: Lisa Kortschak, Social Media: Hicran Ergen, Assistant: Ines Kaiser, Video Patches: Oliver Stotz, Stage Design: Rupert Müller, Costume Design: Noushin Redjaian, Graphic Design: Georg Starzner, Photos/Video Documentation: Magdalena Fischer, Sound Technician: Lisa-Maria Hollaus

credits

A co-production between the Verein zur Förderung der Bewegungsfreiheit and brut Wien. With kind support from the City of Vienna Department of Cultural Affairs.