Simple Life

The theatre festival Simple Life gathered international dance and theatre productions which tell stories of normal people who live their lives on the fringe of society. The ensembles are comprised of both professional actors and the “protagonists of daily life” – amateur actors who depict events in their life on stage in the sense of “real fiction”. The festival presented a broad spectrum of theatrical and choreographic approaches which addressed such subjects as living with a handicap, transsexuality and the fear of dying. The invited groups included Pippo Delbono from Italy with his ensemble of outsiders, and the French acting troupe L‘Oiseau -Mouche, comprised of mentally handicapped actors. A dance theatre production has been developed for the festival, featuring performers who have been unemployed for an extended period of time.
Theatre productions that tell real-life stories and feature amateur actors have attracted more and more attention in recent years. The goal of the festival was to not to regard this form of artistic work as a passing trend, but rather continue to develop the art and anchor it firmly into theatre programmes everywhere.

Artistic director: Jutta Schubert
Artists: Peeping Tom (BE), Pippo Delbono (IT), L‘Oiseau-Mouche (FR), Alvis Hermanis (LV), Dance Theatre Chang (KR), Vanessa van Durme (BE) and others

Venue and schedule:
Kampnagel Hamburg, 11 – 21 November 2010