In many languages, ”talking Chinese” is a saying that means it’s all Greek to me. A language as a synonym for the impossibility of understanding.

The Hungarian, Amsterdam-based theatre-maker Edit Kaldor brings five Chinese people on stage who do their best to open up, to communicate with the audience. Their only language is Chinese. But they are convinced that this does not prevent an exchange with us. So they use the possibilities of theatrical representation – and teach us how to understand basic spoken Mandarin. Just enough to understand the story that is slowly unfolding before our eyes, driven by the repressed conflicts and interwoven personal histories of the performers: a family under extreme pressure, five people whose lives are irrevocably linked – but where did it all go wrong?

And we, unravelling the plot just a moment before, become witness to unpleasant truths. But who we believe, whose story we are willing to understand better, is all down to us. Just as this evening can only unfold if we fill in the gaps in understanding for ourselves and dare to engage in a communication that is essentially impossible. A challenging, but rewarding encounter; an evening about understanding and theatre. Starting from scratch, we begin to create something together.

Konzept / Idee: Edit Kaldor
Mitwirkende / Mitwirkender: Yen Yi-Tzu
Mitwirkende / Mitwirkender: Xi Zeng
Mitwirkende / Mitwirkender: Zhana Ivanova
Mitwirkende / Mitwirkender: Nicola Unger
Kostüme: Janneke Raaphorst
Lichtregie: Ingeborg Slaats
Mitwirkende / Mitwirkender: Hans Mets
Mitwirkende / Mitwirkender: Corine Snjiders
Schauspielerin / Schauspieler: Nucheng Lu
Schauspielerin / Schauspieler: Siping Yao
Schauspielerin / Schauspieler: Aaron Chun Fai Wan
Schauspielerin / Schauspieler: Lei Wang
Schauspielerin / Schauspieler: Qifeng Shang

Mediathek