“It is not by coincidence that this play is called ‘Traumata’. Actually, I wanted to write something that is positive and reaches towards the future. But can one be optimistic when one is enraged? Is it possible to talk about independence without reminding colonisation? Thus, is it possible to talk about colonisation without becoming angry? Is it possible to create a new future without facing one’s past?“ – Ousmane Aledji, Director.
Inspired by Aimé Césaire’s play “One season in the Congo”, “Traumatism” combines theater with live video projection, dance and hip hop. This rhythmic interaction of metaphoric words serves as a medium of learning about Africa and enables the valorisation of historic knowledge. Ousmane Aledji creates theater of urgency, subtle and direct at the same time - a truly contemporary work.
Director Ousmane Aledji was born in Benin on August 12, 1970 and today is an author, poet and dramaturge. In 1993 he founded the Agbo-N’Koko theater company in Cotonou, Benin. Since 1995, Aledji has been the chairman of the Association of Beninese Dramaturges and the editor of the art magazine ARTISTTIK-AFRICA. His stagings are marked by a distinctively impressive, forthright and unruly style. Aledji has already written and directed more than 18 plays and there is no denying that he is one of the most productive and exciting dramaturges of West Africa. In 1995, he was awarded first prize of the Francophonie for the play „Amour et sang“. For his play „L’âme où j’ai mal ou ici la vie est belle“ he received a scholarship in Limoges in 2000.
Aledji and his company were in Germany at the theatre festival „Theaterlandschaften“ in Mühlheim an der Ruhr in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, his production „Omon mi“ (“My Child”) was received with great enthusiasm. WELT online hailed „Omon mi“ as one of the most important productions in West African contemporary theatre. In 2009, Aledji premiered „Est-ce ainsi que vivent les hommes?“ (“Is that really how people live?”) and „Pourissement“ (“Rottenness”). The former broached the 2006 toxic waste scandal in Ivory Coast. „Pourissement“ and investigated the extent to which power changes people. Both were co-productions with the Theater an der Ruhr. In 2010, he and his theatre company will present the World Premiere of „Traumata – Traumatismes“ at Haus der Kulturen der Welt.
October 27, 28 and 29 at 8:00 pm
Haus der Kulturen der Welt
John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, 10557 Berlin
S-Bahn Hauptbahnhof (S3, S5, S7, S9, S75)
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“Yesterday, Tomorrow” is based on Nuruddin Farah’s book, Yesterday, Tomorrow: Voices from the Somali Diaspora. It is a portrayal of the personal stories of people who, due to political instability in postcolonial Somalia, find themselves forced to flee their homes, cross borders and become refugees. The individual stories and subtle portraits of the countries of exile create a moving image of life between different worlds.
This piece premiered at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin on December 2, 2009.
Adapted by Amy Evans and Grada Kilomba
Directed by Grada Kilomba
Performed by Michael Edode Ojake and Araba Walton
Playwright Amy Evans seeks through her work to critically examine the impact of displacement, alienation and political violence on the human spirit. Her first play, Achidi J’s Final Hours, was inspired by the true story of Mareame N’Deye Sarr, a young woman who was killed in a confrontation with German police in Aschaffenburg in July 2001. Her newest play, The Most Unsatisfied Town, based on the death-in-custody of Oury Jalloh, was completed while in residency at the ICI Berlin earlier this year.
Grada Kilomba’s literary works explore the fields of memory, trauma and post-colonialism. Among others, she is the author of Plantation Memories (2008) a compilation of episodes of everyday racism written in the form of short psychoanalytical stories. Currently she is a fellow at the ICI Berlin, where she is writing her new book Kalunga based on the Orishas and the post-transatlantic experience of fragmentation, loss and colonial convalescing.
Michael Edode Ojake (actor) was born in 1961 in Lagos, Nigeria. He was a production assistant at the National Theatre in Lagos and studied Acting at the Academy of Theatre and Film in Sofia, Bulgaria. Since 1990 he lives and works in Berlin as an actor, director and author in film and theatre.
Araba Walton (actress) is a German actress and singer. She worked for five years with a number of theatre companies in London, until an engagement with the Musical ‚The Lion King’ brought her back to her home country. Currently she has a capital role in the movie ‘ Berlin Calling’.
Born in 1945 in Baidoa, Somalia, Nuruddin Farah was sentenced to death in absentia for political reasons in 1976. After spending many years in exile in Africa, Europe and the U.S., he now lives in Cape Town, South Africa. He is the winner of the prestigious Neustadt Prize for Literature (1998) and a perennial nominee for the Nobel Prize for Literature. He is the author of numerous novels, including the Blood in the Sun trilogy. His work has been translated into 17 languages. Knots is his latest novel.
Friday, 9 July 2010 at 19:30
ICI Berlin
Institute of Cultural Inquiry
Christinenstrasse 18 – 19, Haus 8
D-10119 Berlin
Images by Birte Zellentin, courtesy of the Haus der Kulturen der Welt.
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Video courtesy of Thabo Thindi at jozy.tv.
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There are three parts to this game. The beginning, where you set up your strategy. The midgame, where you execute the strategy. And the endgame, where anything is possible. The loser may become the victor, and the victor, the loser. The game may end in a draw, or in a crushing defeat. In the endgame we find out what all of our sacrifices, all of our hard work, have truly been worth …
© Johannes Neumann, Umbruch Bildarchiv e.V.
On January 7, 2005, Oury Jalloh, an African man who had come to Germany seeking asylum, burned to death while shackled to the floor of a Dessau jail cell. Three years later two police officers were prosecuted on charges of wrongful death and acquitted. Massive protests resulted in an appeal of the verdict, and, five years to the day of Jalloh’s death, the German Federal Court of Justice ruled in favor of re-opening the case against the police. Written in response to these events, The Most Unsatisfied Town highlights the insidious ways that institutionalized racism and asylum policy leave individuals vulnerable to gross human rights violations, and explores tensions between perceived truth and reality, reparation and gratification, triumph and loss, and the personal cost of mobilizing for social justice.
Playwright and performer Amy Evans seeks through her work to critically examine the impact of displacement, alienation and political violence on the human spirit. She has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, and her work has appeared in several publications, including “Velocity: The Best of Apples and Snakes” (Black Spring Press, 2003); “Mythen, Masken, Subjekte: Kritische Weißseinforschung in Deutschland” (Unrast, 2005), and “How Long Is Never?” (Josef Weinberger, 2007). Amy Evans is currently a resident fellow at the ICI Berlin.
Tuesday, 27 April 2010 at 19:30
ICI Berlin
Institute of Cultural Inquiry
Christinenstrasse 18 – 19, Haus 8
D-10119 Berlin
This event is free and open to the public. In English.
For more information on the Oury Jalloh case, please visit:
Initiative in Gedenken Oury Jalloh
Umbruch Bildarchiv e.V.
Oury Jalloh: The Film, dir. Simon Jaikiriuma Paetau, 2008
Tod in der Zelle: Warum starb Oury Jalloh? dir. Sonia Seymour Mikich und Pagonis Pagonakis, 2010
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Partners in Health, founded by doctor and activist Paul Farmer, believe in providing medical care based on solidarity rather than charity. Their belief is that health care involves activism on all levels, from pressuring pharmaceutical companies to lobbying governments and dealing directly with those in need. Please check out their program Stand With Haiti and make as generous a donation as you can.
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Sister Juvénia Joseph, a Catholic nun from Haiti, participated in one of my ESL classes at Fordham University in 2007. Recently I learned that the building where her congregation was housed in Haiti has been completely destroyed, and that many of the Sisters have been either killed or left injured by the recent earthquake. In spite of their losses, they are doing what they can to help provide relief to other earthquake victims.
I asked Sr Juvénia as to the best way to assist and she asked that donations toward supporting her congregation be made to the Daughters of Mary religious order. Contributions will go directly toward helping the congregation support earthquake victims with medicine and vital food supplies.
If you’re a well-intentioned, but wary soul like me, and you like to know where your giving is going, then you’ve probably been scrutinizing websites to make sure that what you contribute reaches its destination. In this case, you can be confident that what you give is going straight to where it’s needed. You can contribute to Sr Juvénia’s congregation in Haiti to support their relief efforts by sending a check made out to ‘Daughters of Mary’ to the following address:
Sr Juvénia Joseph
332 East 32nd Street
Brooklyn, NY 11226
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Haiti Disaster Relief
If you are searching for initiatives or places where you can make a donation toward earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, please have a look at the list below. Please also remember that if you can’t donate your money, you can always donate your time; organize a collection of any or all of the items listed below, and drop them off at a local charity.
Doctors Without Borders provides medical relief to those directly affected by the disaster. 87% of donations go toward program services (the other 13% goes toward administration, management and fundraising).
Democracy Now made special mention of this organization on their Wednesday morning broadcast. The HERF website outlines exactly what initiatives donations to their organization support.
Housing Works and the Haitian AIDS group FEBS collaborated on the first march of openly gay people in Haiti, many of whom were HIV-positive. You can donate through the Housing Works website and specify that your resources go to their Haiti Relief Initiative.
You can donate via the Yele Haiti website, or use your cell phone to text “Yele” to 501501, which will automatically donate $5 to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund (it will be charged to your cell phone bill).
If you are based in Brooklyn, St. Paul’s Community Baptist Church is allowing Yele Haiti to take collections of the items listed below at the following address: St. Paul’s Community Baptist Church, 859 Hendrix Street (btwn Linden Blvd and Stanley Ave), Brooklyn, NY 11207 (courtesy Facebook friends):
- blankets
- solar flashlights
- power bars/protein bars
- clothing
- hygiene supplies
- medical supplies
There are rumors circulating that American Airlines and UPS are organizing initiatives involving free shipment of relief items and free flights for medical personnel. Please double-check your information. Last I read, UPS had actually suspended operations in Haiti due to the catastrophe, and I have yet to hear of any airline industry willing to hand out free flights out of the goodness of its heart.
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Where I wanted to be one of the many voices applauding Precious as an inspirational triumph, I was admittedly underwhelmed by a film that, while punctuated by moments of excruciating truth — most of them via Mo’Nique’s masterful portrayal of Mary, Precious’ mother — seemed to depend much too heavily on directorial gimmicks and hinged on a screenplay that simply couldn’t decide what story to tell. My biggest gripe was that director Lee Daniels, having been blessed with such a broad range of extraordinary talent, did not give his ensemble more opportunity to strut their stuff. The film shines brightest at those moments that are left spare and honest — a twitchy camera on Mariah Carey’s deadpan Mrs. Weiss spinning in her office chair, Mary’s explosive monologue about ‘real women’ hurled up at Precious from the bottom of a staircase, and the flirtatious bantering of Precious’ classmates speak volumes more than the near-psychedelic shifts in lighting and visual effects that Daniels seems intent on proving he knows how to use. The result is a weighty combination of fantasy sequences and narration drowning out key scenes that should have belonged solely to the actors.
While the ensemble as a whole has very deservedly wracked up numerous accolades for their work, Mo’Nique is the true star of this film, bringing to her performance of Mary a degree of truth and complexity that is both startling and compelling. As an audience we loathe, fear and pity Mary; nevertheless, in spite of her seemingly boundless capacity for cruelty, we still harbor some vague sense of hope — as Precious certainly must — that at some point a glimmer of compassion might break through and the other woman hidden in Mary, the one who might have stood up to an abusive partner and made something of her life, will somehow manage to emerge. No chance, of course — Mary is a woman broken beyond repair, it seems — and yet Mo’Nique gives us just enough hints to keep us hoping. Mary is the one character who, if mishandled, could’ve truly sunk this film; one false move could’ve brought us spiraling into the mystical world of Reagan-era stereotypes. Mo’Nique takes her risks with purpose and boldness, and the result is a devastatingly unsentimental performance each moment that she is on screen.
While far from a ‘con job‘, Precious suffers from a desire to please, manipulating realism into something that can be marketed as ‘soaring’ and ‘inspirational’. Watching the film, I had the impression that the cast were far better equipped to deal with the topics of sexual abuse, AIDS, poverty and education than Daniels and screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher were ready to give them credit for (Precious’ unconvincing exit line ‘You can’t handle this’ following Mary’s final monologue seemed more like an exhausted screenwriter admitting defeat in the face of such raw talent). The result is a film that is patchy, unevenly paced, and ultimately unclear as to what story it aims to tell. Is it a film about the power of writing, of telling one’s story? Is it a film about a young woman who learns to take pride in who she is? Is it a film about survival, about redemption? Is it a satire on the welfare system? A satire on Black women and beauty image? Is it another one of those classroom dramas about teachers who work miracles when the state and federal government fail? Precious tries a little too hard to be all of the above, and consequently achieves none with any degree of persuasion. Overall, the only real triumph is an ensemble of actors whose commitment to their subject matter and to one another manage to bind together a fragile script that would have otherwise drowned in top-heavy narration and misplaced visual effects.
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The Most Unsatisfied Town
Based on the death-in-custody of Oury Jalloh and the political movement that arose from the case, The Most Unsatisfied Town takes an intimate look at a community transformed by an unspeakable act of violence. This work-in-progress presentation will be followed by a conversation open to the public with artists and special guests.
Written by: Amy Evans
Performed by: Martha Fessehatzion, Lara-Sophie Milagro, Michael Ojake and David Wurawa
Special Guest: Eddie Bruce-Jones is a Visiting Lecturer in Public International Law at King’s College London School of Law, where he teaches postgraduate courses in international law and anti-discrimination law. Bruce-Jones is an expert member of The Oury Jalloh Independent Investigative Commission and LGBTI Resource Contact for The Southern Refugee Legal Aid Network. He is a doctoral researcher at the Institute for European Ethnology at Humboldt University of Berlin. Among his published work is the article “Race, Space, and the Nation State: Racial Recognition and the Prospects of Substantive Equality under Anti-Discrimination Law in France and Germany.” Bruce-Jones’ principal research includes human rights law, refugee law, comparative equality law, legal theory, prison policy, and legal anthropology. He holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard University (AB) and advanced degrees from King’s College London (LLM), Columbia University School of Law (JD) and Humboldt University of Berlin (MA).
Location: ICI Berlin , Christinenstraße 18/19, 10119 Berlin
Time: Wednesday, 9 December 2009, 19:00
This event will be in English.
Please register in advance for this event by sending an email to amy.evans(at)ici-berlin.org
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A staged reading of YESTERDAY, TOMORROW: VOICES FROM THE SOMALI DIASPORA by acclaimed author Nuruddin Farah, co-directed and conceptualized by Grada Kilomba and Amy Evans
The second LEBENSLINIEN (lifelines) edition focuses on Nuruddin Farah, acclaimed as one of Africa’s greatest contemporary writers and regarded as a likely candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Together with Nuruddin Farah, LEBENSLINIEN explores his biographical and literary paths in an exchange with friends and fellow-writers past and present.
For decades, instability, anarchy, and civil war have been driving Somalis out of their homeland. Farah, himself an exile for 25 years, gives these refugees a voice. This staged reading from his eponymous collection of essays traces the Somali diaspora’s diverse paths and fates in a globalized world. The individual stories and subtle portraits of the countries of exile create a moving image of life between different worlds.
Actors: Araba Walton and Michael Ojake
Concept and Direction: Grada Kilomba, Amy Evans
In her work, playwright Amy Evans critically examines the impact of displacement, alienation and political violence on the human spirit. She is currently developing a new play based on the true story of Oury Jalloh’s death in custody in Dessau, Germany.
Grada Kilomba’s literary works resemble remembered stories – stories of slavery, colonialism and everyday racism. She is the author of “Plantation Memories” (2008) and is currently writing her second novel “Kalunga” about the African diaspora and Orishas.
Wednesday, 2 December 2009 at 9:30 PM. Tickets available at http://www.hkw.de.
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Recent Entries
- World Premiere: Traumata, Traumatismes by Ousmane Aledji and Agbo-N’koko
- Staged Reading: Yesterday, Tomorrow
- jozy.tv: The Most Unsatisfied Town, 27 April 2010
- Staged Reading: The Most Unsatisfied Town
- Earthquake Relief in Haiti: Partners in Health
- Earthquake Relief in Haiti: An Urgent Appeal
- Haiti Disaster Relief
- Review: Mo’Nique is Precious … the rest of us are OK too.
- The Most Unsatisfied Town
- Yesterday, Tomorrow: Voices from the Somali Diaspora
- Uptown Dessau and the Mason-Dixon Line
