Theater am Lend
Franz von Strolchen
Das Schiff des Theseus
(The Ship of Theseus)
Performance
photo: Mario Ilić
Dates
26.–27.9.2023
Details
In German, English, Macedonian, Slovenian, Hungarian, and Romani with German and English surtitles
Duration: 85 min.
Location
Theater am Lend
Graz
Part of
Partner Program
Production specifics
Supported by BMKOES, Province of Styria, City of Graz, Erasmus+, and Zukunftsfonds der Republik Österreich
A cooperation in the context of steirischer herbst ʼ23
This poetic documentary performance, based around an old Styrian fire department lifeboat, centers on the search for identity of four Romani from Austria, Hungary, North Macedonia, and Slovenia. At the same time, the ship of the Greek king Theseus becomes the symbol of Graz’s repressed history.
In his early twenties, Bernhard found out that he actually came from a Roma family, and that his great-grandmother drowned herself in the Mur River in 1938 because she could no longer endure Nazi despotism. He then tracked down the lifeboat that did not help her at the time.
Based on this story, Franz von Strolchen stages a performance in which the dilapidated and leaky boat is restored—together with four Romani, who contribute their perspectives on their origins. The eponymous philosophical paradox about the nature of identity in the course of time forms the common thread, as the boat is screwed, sanded, cut, and sealed.
Text: Bernhard Berl, Vinko Cener, Franciska Farkas, Natalija Teodosieva, Christian Winkler
Performance: Bernhard Berl, Vinko Cener, Franciska Farkas, Natalija Teodosieva, Franz von Strolchen
Music: Ivan Trenev (accordion), Moritz Weiß (clarinet / bass clarinet)
Direction, space, video: Franz von Strolchen
Costume and props: Markus Boxler
Boat construction: Wolfgang Petschnegg
Assistant director: Sebastian Tschebull
Outside eye: Gábor Thury
Costume creation: Kunstlabor Graz within the Upcycling Clothes and Mind project
Technician: Ronny Priesching
Retrospective
Retrospective