In our name

“We fled, condemned by no court of the people, yet condemned by all both there and here.” In her play “Die Schutzbefohlenen” (The Wards), Elfriede Jelinek addresses the current refugee tragedy by giving the asylum seekers a voice of their own. In her aggressive and disconsolate text, she assumes the perspective of those who look to Europe to provide them a safe haven. In reference to Aeschylus’s tragedy “The Suppliants”, Jelinek portrays a “community” of refugees, those who have no lobby and share no common language.
When it comes to the fate of refugees, both Germany and Europe on the whole have done much to generate public attention, political reflection and occasional action. What is lacking, however, is a widespread social movement. Mainstream society is torn between showing solidarity, pleading hardship and defending itself. Inspired by Jelinek’s powerful text, the director Sebastian Nübling examined escape as a phenomenon of repression, and with his project “In our name”, created a political sphere beyond official politics. The Gorki Theater served as the meeting place for the “community”, a parliament that investigated the constructed dichotomy of citizens vs. non-citizens. The main performance venue has been the auditorium, and the main characters have been visitors and actors who have refugee experience. They read passages aloud from Jelinek’s text in their native languages which served as a foil for their personal stories of how they escaped and how they arrived. The project has been accompanied by discussions and performative interventions. After the performances in Berlin, the project plans to stage guest performances in Vienna, Zurich and Prague.

Director: Sebastian Nübling
Musical director: Lars Wittershagen
With: Maryam Abu Khaled, Ayham Majid Agha, Tamer Arslan, Elmira Bahrami, Vernesa Berbo, Karim Daoud, Anastasia Gubareva, Cynthia Micas, Mateja Meded, Hasan H. Taşgin, Mehmet Yılmaz, Orit Nahmias, Tim Porath, Dimitrij Schaad, Cigdem Teke, Thomas Wodianka