ELEGANZ AUS REFLEX THE ‘I’ IN ‘WE’

How much courage does it take to stand up to a system that spreads fear, persecutes people and punishes any form of dissent?

The latest production by Eleganz aus Reflex/Carolin Millner tells the story of a young Jewish resistance group centred on the friends and couples Marianne and Herbert Baum, and Sala and Martin Kochmann, who stood up to the Nazi regime in Nazi Germany. They resisted through leafleting, helping people escape and acts of sabotage – driven by political conviction, solidarity and the resolve not to stand idly by.

Their story is far less well known today than that of the White Rose or the resistance movement led by Stauffenberg. And so Millner explores the question of who finds a place in our collective memory – and who, in the process, is consigned to oblivion.

*The ‘I’ in the ‘We’* takes these questions as its starting point and transforms them into questions for the present day. In a coming-of-age spoken theatre piece, we encounter young people who, in a world full of threats, are searching for ways to take action. What gives us a foothold when circumstances overwhelm us? When does a stance become resistance? And how do you hold on to hope when your own freedom is at stake?

Historical events meet the perspective of a young generation. Acting, stage design, costumes and film/video come together to create a theatrical evening that not only tells the group’s story, but also allows it to be experienced physically and directly.

A play about resistance and remembrance. About the decision not to look away. And about the question of what we ourselves do when it really matters.

ELEGANZ AUS REFLEX works on a form of spoken theatre that is closely linked to the art of choreography. In her productions, Carolin Millner explores historical and political themes, German-German history and the culture of remembrance. Working as a writer-director, she combines thorough factual research with linguistically precise fictionalisations that open up new angles and perspectives. To date, the company has produced 18 productions that have toured nationwide.

A work by ELEGANZ AUS REFLEX

Text and direction: Carolin Millner
Set and costume design: Maylin Habig and Nils Wildegans
Video and film: Arda Funda
Dramaturgical collaboration: Florian Mania
Cast: Florian Mania, Lisa Heinrici, Johanna Miller, Markus Bernhard Börger

A collaboration between TD Berlin and Produktionshaus NAXOS Frankfurt

Funded by:
Capital City Culture Fund / Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion / Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Art and Culture