About This Show

German Theater Abroad (GTA), in collaboration with LAByrinth Theater Company, presents New German Voices, a five-day-long festival featuring readings of eight contemporary German plays in English translation.

Hosted by The Public Theater, the festival runs June 27th through July 1st, where the Shiva Theater will be transformed into a German bar environment through a theatrical installation by artist Nils Grossien. New German Voices will also feature panel discussions with the various writers, directors, and actors involved in the readings.

Through these readings, New German Voices examines contemporary theatrical texts as a reflection of today’s culture, politics and society. The overall aim is to encourage an exchange of opinion and discourse across cultures.

Sunday, June 27th at 7 PM
FATHERTONGUE, by Albert Ostermaier. Wolf, a young
man, returns to his home in Germany, after spending
years away, to collect the inheritance left to him by
his father. His monologue becomes a confrontation of
his own lies, a self-evaluation where all of life’s
supposed certainties are tested.

Monday, June 28th at 6 PM
THIRSTY BIRD, by Kristo Sagor. The lobby of an
airport: in the middle of passengers and employees,
travelers and those who will stay behind, a girl and
two homeless men meet. Out of the emptiness of the
waiting comes a game of expectations. Thirsty Bird is
a story about passers-by and friends, intense and at
the same time fleeting.

Monday, June 28th at 8:30 PM
SLIPPED DISC, by Ingrid Lausund. Five employees are
in the Boss’ outer office, waiting to enter the
“lion’s den.” The entrance of the Boss is
choreographed to the smallest detail. And when they
leave the office, everything is perfect, naturally.

Tuesday, June 29th at 6 PM
GADAFFI ROCKS, by Oliver Czeslik. A man comes onto
the stage. He greets the audience, straps on
explosives, wires himself up and starts telling
stories: about Allah, the Holy War, and Susanne.

Tuesday, June 29th at 8:30 PM
FUTUR DE LUXE, by Igor Bauersima. In an age when
humans can be technically reproduced, Pop Art will
reach perfection as Population Art. Futur de Luxe
deals with loss of identity and individuality, and
with the threat to our existence posed by the
consequences of genetic engineering and plastic
surgery. On Friday evening the Kleins, a family
headed by a wealthy Jewish physician, are faced with
questions that humanity has only dealt with
theoretically.

Wednesday, June 30th at 6 PM
IT HASN’T BEEN THIS WILD IN OUR FORREST IN FOREVER, by
Theresia Walser. Where would a lonely person be
without an audience, a suffering person without
witnesses — and doesn’t every injury create its own
tragedy? IT HASN’T BEEN THIS WILD… is a play about
the battles of perception.

Wednesday, June 30th at 8:30 PM
THE WOMEN FROM BEFORE, by Roland Schimmelpfennig.
Twenty-four years ago, Frank swore that he would
always love Romy Vogtldnder and now, suddenly, she is
here to remind him of his promise. In the meantime,
Frank married Claudia, had a son, and has long since
forgotten Romy until the moment she appears on his
doorstep.

Thursday, July 1st at 8:30 PM
REPUBLIC VINETA, by Moritz Rinke. Five businessmen
and a female assistant travel to the country for a
planning conference on a special mission. In a
secluded, run-down villa in the former East Germany
they work on the “Vineta” project, a new city and
“theme park for broken dreams,” that will be built on
an uninhabited island. What follows is an ideological
struggle for power between the executives.

All readings are followed by discussions with the
authors.

Show Details

Dates: Opening Night: June 27, 2004 Final Performance: July 1, 2004