Hedera

We move between the poles of loss and hope, powerlessness and empowerment, destruction and reconstruction. The body becomes the bearer of an embodied archive that carries traces of past and present struggles. In a barren, fragmented landscape – a wasteland between past and present – these traces become visible through gestures, breath, sound and collective movements.

The material itself also becomes a participant: we use elements found in nature as well as in the rubble – sand, water, wood and other materials. These materials represent the rubble, the past, the broken – and at the same time the living, the changeable, that which is constantly transforming. Through the exploration of these physical elements, a dialogue emerges between body and matter, between destruction and reconstruction.

Scenically, we approach the theme through physical-performative processes in which memories are not retold but re-embodied. The performers contribute their individual and collective experiences, thus creating a space for shared remembrance, mourning, rituals, empowerment and celebration. Rubble is understood not only as a sign of destruction, but also as material from which new forms of cohesion emerge.

For us, Hedera is a poetic search for hidden resistance – for voices that have not been silenced, but continue to breathe beneath the surface and address the audience.

Performance: Bahar Sadafi, Rashin Didandeh
Direction and Dramaturgy: Mamadoo Mehrnejad
Authorship and dramaturgic Advice: Hossein Maleki 
Music: Amir Reza Edalat
Recherche/Assistence: Maedeh Mirzaei
Production and Outside Eye: Aylin Kreckel

Das 2016 von Bahareh Sadafi und Mamadoo Mehrnejad gegründete Sepidar Theater ist ein Performance-Kollektiv aus Kunstschaffenden verschiedener kultureller Hintergründe. Die in NRW ansässigen Künstler:innen arbeiten mit Formen des Schatten- und Objekttheaters, Physical Theatre sowie des Dokumentarischen Theaters. Thematischer Schwerpunkt ihrer Arbeiten ist ein philosophischer Blick auf zeitgenössische Fragen wie die nach Identität, Herrschaftsstrukturen und Modellen sozialen Zusammenlebens. Das transkulturelle Performance-Kollektiv arbeitet interdisziplinär und erweitert das Kernteam um immer neue Künstler:innen aus ganz NRW. Ihre Arbeit „Der kleine schwarze Fisch“ wurde zum 45. Fritz-Wortelmann-Preis-Wettbewerb eingeladen.