Briseis and Spourgitis know no peace. The Trojan War has been raging for ten years; when it started they were still small children. Both have learnt from the warriors: hate your enemies! "The Greeks all have fur!" Spourgitis is convinced. Although he has never seen one. "Everyone in Troy has pig noses," Briseis is certain. Even though she doesn't know any Trojans. It's war, you don't get to know each other, you just fight.
But one night the two do meet. On the last night of the war, they meet on the Trojan horse. And they are observed by Hermes, the messenger of the gods, who has his own opinion of the war.
Excerpt from the jury's statement:
“TROJA can be categorised as its own kind of musical theatre, in which the ensemble, direction and stage design come together so harmoniously that time flies by. The play is characterised by an outstanding theatre text, which, especially from a distance, encourages reflection on today's wars and conflicts.”
"Two population groups so close and yet so distant: The people of Troy and the people of Greece, in a relationship characterised only by hatred. It is placed in a time of war. From this hatred and this war, self-images and images of others are constructed on the basis of mechanisms that are still used today: Self-discovery and self-construction through the labelling of the enemy. Within this network of relationships, the Greek Briseis meets the young Trojan Spourgitis in the belly of the Trojan horse. No one else is there. The learned hatred is quickly served up. But it's not that easy when the other person is completely different from the hate narrative. There are two people facing each other who are constantly irritated by their so called enemy. Again and again they circle each other and come closer, they also repel each other in order to slowly find their way back to each other. This process of negotiation is captivating and deeply moving.
"TROJA" can be categorised as its own kind of musical theatre, in which the ensemble, direction and stage design come together so harmoniously that time flies by.
The play is characterised by an outstanding theatre text, which, especially from a distance, encourages reflection on today's wars and conflicts.
theatrekohlenpott Herne has been a theatre for young audiences since the 2006/2007 season. It works with musicians, authors, choreographers and dancers, as well as visual artists, who meet up for various projects and productions in always new constellations.theaterkohlenpott Herne focuses on devising theatre, also in the field of new music theatre and in cooperation with new circus and urban arts. However, the participation of young people and cooperation with schools, other institutions and theatres are also an important priority. Many productions have received multiple awards and are regularly invited to festivals. The development and realisation of artistic and participatory projects for and with young people is an important part of our work. In addition to theatre clubs for young people aged 10 and over, theaterkohlenpott supports young artists and performers and enables them to research and try out different formats and projects under professional conditions and accompanies them on their path to professionalisation. The theatre team works and rehearses in the "Ort der Kulturen" in the middle of Herne. The theatre venue are the Flottmann-Hallen Herne and guest venues throughout Germany. The theatre is institutionally supported by the state of NRW and the city of Herne.
accessible to
public | 10+
Venue
Grillo Theater Essen
Duration
70 Min.
Theater
theaterkohlenpott, Herne
www.theater-kohlenpott.de
Production
theatrekohlenpott, Herne
by Henner Kallmeyer
Director: Frank Hörner
With: Gareth Charles, Sefa Küskü, Franziska Schmitz
Dramaturgy: Henner Kallmeyer
Musical direction: Sebastian Maier
Set design: Natalia Nordheimer
Theatre pedagogy: Carina Langanki
Technical direction: Phil Wistinghausen
Production assistance: Lynn Dokoohaki
Production assistant: Paul Knust, Helena Sohn
Performance rights: S. Fischer Verlag GmbH Frankfurt / Main
The play and the production are part of "Nah dran! New Plays for Children's Theatre", a cooperation project between the Children's and Young People's Theatre Centre in the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Literature Fund with funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.