Solidarity Pricing System: 10/15/20 €
Payment in cash at the box office.
LOCATION:
Hall 1
DURATION:
approx. 2 h, incl. intermission; admission 30 min prior
LANGUAGE:
GER / EN / UKR etc.
Free reservation via ticket link
BÄM BÄM BÄM & Emigrant Songs
Double Feature ASJA & Nastya Dzyuban
LOCATION:
Hall 1
DURATION:
approx. 2 h, incl. intermission; admission 30 min prior
LANGUAGE:
GER / EN / UKR etc.
Free reservation via ticket link
Two performances share the big stage at Frankfurt LAB with a short intermission!
Emigrant Sons
Nastya Dzyuban
Polissja / Palesse is a region spanning the border of Ukraine and Belarus, where a cultural and linguistic commons exists, connecting Ukrainian and Belarusian despite imperial attempts to erase both languages and cultures. In Emigrant songs, four performers gather fragments of this heritage, weaving their voices into a living, breathing archive.
At the heart of the piece is the camouflage net — a mesh of fabric and stories, of (in)visibility and protection in the ongoing war. On stage, threads are knotted, hands move rhythmically, voices rise, and heels begin to stomp.
How much do you blend in to stay safe? Cultural camouflage becomes an effort to weave oneself into new social fabrics — to soften one’s outline, to mask a presence, to disappear into the background. Migration turns into a constant dance between the desire to be heard and the necessity to dissolve into the landscape. Between weaving and singing, hiding and revealing, the performers trace fragile ways of staying visible while searching for where their voices come from and where they might belong.
BÄM BÄM BÄM
Justice wins oder Tappen im Dunkeln
ASJA
At the beginning: a murder. At the end: the solution. In between: complete uncertainty.
Wearing trench coats, casting long shadows, and brimming with brilliant self-confidence, ASJA and René Alejandro Huari Mateus approach the figure of the master detective. A mysterious case, a crackling radio and the stage as the scene of the crime!
Detective stories and crime fiction are one of the most popular genres for books, films and games across age groups and classes. The figure of the detective gazes at the supposedly unfamiliar: whether it’s Poe’s calm Dupin, who digresses about methods of analysis; or Doyle’s Holmes, who proves his genius by reading his counterpart through seemingly insignificant details; or Christie’s Poirot, who uncovers the dark secrets of the rich and beautiful while travelling in dramatic settings; or Bogart’s Marlowe, who, weary of everything and detached from intrigue, puts himself in danger above all else; or characters from series such as True Detective, Twin Peaks, CSI Miami, Tatort, TKKG, Knives Out, Kalle Blomquist: they are often white men, excelling at keeping a cool head to thoroughly uncover, examine and understand the object of their interest.
In BÄM BÄM BÄM, this character and his underlying longing for absolute, rational understanding is dissected on stage by two BIPoC women and taken to absurd extremes in a game between two detectives who analyse each other.
Notes on Content & Language
Emigrant Songs
This performance unfolds in an open space without fixed seating. You are welcome to sit on chairs or move freely. At the center of the gathering is a shared act: weaving a real camouflage net, which will be sent to Ukrainian defence units in need after the performance. You’re invited to join this process, or simply observe — there is no obligation. At times, soft invitations to move or sing together may arise, always with space to be present in your own way. Your presence, in whatever form, is valued.
Language Notes:
The primary languages of the performance are Ukrainian and Belarusian. Nevertheless, the work remains accessible through shared human experience, movement, and sound. No language skills are necessary to connect with the work. To support your experience, a brochure with translations of the song texts will be provided.
BÄM BÄM BÄM
The performance deals with the genre of murder mystery and crime fiction and addresses the topics of violence, death, murder, and the police on a linguistic and visual level. There is a rag doll on stage that serves as a corpse and a toy gun without ammunition. There may be gunshot noises and a sudden bang. The stage is sometimes dimly lit and dark, and there will be fog and vaping.
Language Notes:
The main languages of the performance are German and English, with short passages in Spanish and Sudanese. We assume that there will be moments when you will not understand a language, or that you will grasp elements of a text at a later point. The performance is structured in such a way that the most important content appears in both German and English.
Credits & Supporters
Emigrant Songs
Initiated by Nastya Dzyuban, created and performed in collaboration between Nastya Dzyuban, Olen Mamai, Hanna Launikovich, Andrii Punko
Costume: Delphina O. Hennig
Woodwork and emotional support: Nice Kager
Folk singing transmission & guidance: Tetiana Illchenko, Dariia Bakalova and folk music group Bozhedary
Sound design: Hanna Launikovich
Technical support: Felix Schwarzrock
Big warm thanks to Bernhard Siebert, Frédéric de Carlo, René Alejandro Huari Mateus, Barbara Krzoska, Chiara Marcassa, Jenny Flügge, Florian Ackermann and Frankfurt LAB team, Ida Daniel and IX ProsoziTé collective, Natalia Shcherbina, Olena Bronnikova and other members of the Weaving group, Melika Moazeni, Fabian Schäfer and Mania collective, Halyna Oblonina, Polina Oblonina, Tetiana Saienko
Funded by Kulturamt Frankfurt, Gesellschaft Freunde internationales Theater Frankfurt
BÄM BÄM BÄM
Artistic Direction: ASJA
Performance & Choreography: René Alejandro Huari Mateus
Co-direction: Maren Ada Küpper
Costumes, stage and set design: Nora Schneider
Lighting design and technical direction: Felix Schwarzrock
With many thanks to Frankfurt LAB, Philipp Schulte, Ekaterine Giorgadze, Jonathan Schmidt-Colinet and Frédéric de Carlo.
Funded by Kulturamt Frankfurt and Hessisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst.
Cooperation partners
