Theatre on Democracy

8 - 23/October

Those who speak of democracy actually mean a system of government that respects all citizens as free, equal and autonomous individuals. Since Ancient Greece this »rule of the people« has haunted our dreams and our thoughts, and its crisis, its failure or inability, has been proclaimed for just as long.

Do we really have a choice? When one think about the uncovering  of the right-wing terrorist cell NSU and the shocking involvement  of various government entities in their structures, one doesn't even have to look beyond Germany to see how thoroughly trust in the institutions of law has eroded.

And what about individual freedom, when the social gap continues to widen, authoritarian systems leverage human rights, and populists loudly exclude fellow citizens? Over two weeks, the Gorki plays host to a festival with numerous theatre makers, artists and thinkers who come to grips with this Western, millennia-old prime export of »democracy« through plays, performances, dramatic readings and discussions.

They tell of how the dream of equality is reflected in contradictory, personal biographies, how the self-determination of the body within the mass creates tension, they celebrate diversity and commonality.
 

Browse through the full festival programme

The festival is funded by the Hauptstadtkulturfonds.

Uniting Backgrounds media partner: radio eins