What forces from the past take possession of our bodies? How can we give them space and attention without them gaining power over us? How do we deal with our present day demons?
The Dibbuk by Salomon An-ski poses questions that the transnational KULA Compagnie, with artists from Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Israel, Iran and Afghanistan, addresses artistically. The play, which was created in what was then Galicia, tells a Hasidic-Jewish love story, initially written in Russian, with Kabbalistic components, which takes up ancient Persian mysticism and makes borders visible and blurred them. The examination of boundaries that attempt to separate people into seemingly insurmountable worlds can be found in many of KULA Compagnie's works.
DIBBUK - between (two) worlds is intended to unfold through two different performances that are performed on the same evening or stand alone. Both parts can also be presented separately in countries where it is not possible for all participants to travel or where their safety is not guaranteed.
An-ski's original is one of the most important works of Yiddish culture. It tells the story of a Jewish bride and groom whose marriage is prevented by the demon of a dead man - the dybbuk - who enters the bride and takes possession of her. The project by the transnational KULA Compagnie places this narrative in a contemporary, interreligious context.
The current escalation of the political conflict in Israel-Palestine represents an immense challenge for the participating artists of the KULA Compagnie and at the same time reinforces the motive to meet in artistic work in order to make a contribution to dialogue and understanding in a time of political tension.
The KULA Compagnie relies on the transformative power of theatre. By transcending seemingly irreconcilable global political conflicts, bridges are built through artistic creation.
Opening night on 17th and 18th of May 2024 at the Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen/Theater Marl
further performances
München, Halle Mucca on 16th, 17th and 18th of June 2024,
a co-production of dasvinzenz Theater / Kula Compagnie
| Max Bauer (DE) | |
| ( Chao Liu (CN) ) | |
| Hadar Dimand (IL,PT) | |
| Sara Khalili (AF) | |
| Slava Kushkov (DE) | |
| Céline Martin-Sisteron (FR) | |
| Tahera Rezaie (AF) | |
| Jonas Schlagowsky (DE) | |
| Peter Schorn (IT) | |
| Romaric Séguin (FR) | |
| Masha Shmoulian (IL) | |
| Zinedinne Smain (DZ) | |
| Robert Spitz (DE,IL) | |
| Homan Wesa (AF) | |
| and participation via video | Fariba Baqeri (AF) |
| Pasquale di Filippo (IT) | |
| Katerina Kuznetsova (YL | |
| an imaginary Yiddishland) | |
| Azar Mahdavi (AF) | |
| Andrea De Majio (IT) | |
| Soliman Saien (AF) | |
| Alexander Simon (DE) | |
| written based on a template from An-Ski and realized by | Robert Schuster (DE) |
| Dramaturgy | Yotam Gotal (IL) |
| Dramaturgiacal accompaniment | Zainab Qadiri (AF) |
| Music and sounds | Max Bauer (DE) |
| Stage | Sascha Gross (DE) |
| Lighting and technical coordination | Michael Bischoff (DE) |
| Ambassadress, Assistent Director, Subtitels, Stage Manager | Khitam Hussein (DE) |
| Assistent Director | Lena Thiele (DE) |
| Video | Simon Vorgrimmler (DE) |
| Three-dimensional animated spaces | Andrew Arnold (DE) |
| Producer | Eric Nikodym (DE) |
| Production management | Mareike Lehne (DE) |
"The new Ring Parable" - The mixture of live performance and technology ... lends the production ... an impressive symbolic character, which at the same time goes far beyond anything symbolic. In a world that has become extremely polarised since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October last year, Israeli and Afghan, German and Russian, French and Algerian actors and actresses perform together in "Dibbuk - zwischen (zwei) Welten". In this way, the ensemble sets an example against the omnipresent division and against a world that is increasingly being torn apart by the ghosts of the past. The production, set "between (two) worlds", becomes a new "Ring Parable"... It is an aesthetic that seeks to penetrate to the core of things through exaggeration - in search of a form of expression that can be understood in all worlds.
nachtkritik.de Sascha Westphal 18.5.2024
"Obsession in seven languages" - The Dybbuk legend acts as a theatre experience between worlds and cultures, influencing its reinterpretation for this production. This becomes much clearer in the second part and, with reference back to the first part, the intentions of the KULA theatre are almost effervescent. Now it is Layla (Tahera Rezaie with fantastic power), who has come to Germany from Afghanistan, who has seen a "Dybbuk" performance in the theatre and has fallen in love with the actor of the invading ghost...
Theater der Zeit, Thomas Irmer 29.5.2024
"In the lost paradise" - .. And so this evening offers no easy answers. The stage becomes something like a rehearsal room for reality, an attempt at understanding as an alternative to violence. Of course, "Dibbuk" has no solution to the problems of this world, but the play shows that it is possible by overcoming boundaries. "If this one God created us so different, then freedom is his commandment"
Abendzeitung München 18.6.2024 Anne Fritsch
"Demonically engulfed"
Süddeutsche Zeitung 17.6.24 Thomas Studer
"We didn't want to go down the path of speechlessness"
Münchner Feuilleton 11.6.2024 Anne Fritsch
Gefördert durch die Kulturstiftung des Bundes. Gefördert von der Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien.
Funded by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation). Funded by the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media).
