Prefabricated housing estates are not an exclusively East German phenomenon, but are extremely widespread because of the simplicity of modular construction. They exist all over the world from Moscow to Paris to Copenhagen. And also in places where you wouldn’t expect to find them, like Zanzibar, Mexico or Hong Kong. In all these places, people have adapted to the buildings, repurposed them and appropriated them. The internationalization of the prefabricated buildings contrasts with today’s dangerous trends in East Germany: fear of the supposedly other and racism. Could precisely the interchangeability and similarity of the Plattenbauten be an opportunity to rethink home and identity in a sustainable way? Can a way of building that has been discredited as ugly be a kind of aesthetic link between experiences in different places in the world?
by Hanisch-Methner
Cast
Concept, direction Maximilian Hanisch
concept, stage Sarah Methner
technical direction, lighting design Thomas Giger
sound design Fabrizio Di Salvo
video design Nefeli Chrysa Avgeris
3D visualization Daniel Stiensmeier / PLACE Architects
Dramaturgy Katharina Germo (ROXY) and Carsten Weber (DNT)
Outside Eye Jeremy Nedd
Production management Maxine Devaud (CH) and ehrliche arbeit - freies Kulturbüro (D)
artistic assistance Esther Jurkiewicz
production assistance Charlotte Rosengarth
urbanistic consulting Cosima Speckardt
Performance John Chan, Aloyce Funga Funga, Tahera Hashemi, Sasha Portyannikova
A production by Maximilian Hanisch & Sarah Methner in co-production with Hellerau - European Center for the Arts Dresden, Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar & Kunstfest Weimar, ROXY Birsfelden, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Goethe-Institut Hong Kong and supported by Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Fachausschuss Tanz und Theater BS/BL, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Migros Kulturprozent - Ideation, Stiftung Edith Maryon.