When a teddy bear is over 100 years old, his eyes have already seen a whole lot. After all, his arms are all covered with patches from giving so many hugs. This teddy bear is named Bärchen. He has already seen very beautiful and very awful moments, for example, when the walls shook because of the bombs. Or when Irene’s grandmother was deported. Bärchen experienced all of that. Up until now, he has just listened, but now he is going to speak for himself.
A piece of documentary object theater about persecution during the National Socialist dictatorship and about the intergenerational passing on of traumatic experiences, told from the point of view of a teddy bear.
„Auch wenn man es hier mit hartem Stoff zu tun hat, auch wenn bedrückende Bombennächte beschrieben werden oder die Deportation der Großmutter, gibt es immer noch den Bären, der einem selbst das schlimmste Schicksal erträglich macht. Das ist die große Qualität dieser Inszenierung: dass sie es schafft, das drastische Geschehen nicht zu verschweigen, ohne das Publikum nachhaltig zu traumatisieren.“
Falk Schreiber, fidena.de
Based on a biography from Irene Grumach-Shirun, written by Jill Levenfeld
Concept, performance:
Josephine Hock
Direction:
Hannes Kapsch
Concept, scenography, costumes:
Luise Ehrenwerth
Sound:
Sebastian Schlemminger
Puppet design:
Verena Waldmüller
Dramaturgy:
Tim Sandweg
Anti-Semitism-critical counceling:
Juliette Brungs
Concept for accompanying material and workshop:
Iven Hoppe, Susann Tamoszus
Premiere: 29.06.2024 in der Schaubude Berlin
Eine Produktion der Schaubude Berlin, gefördert von der Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt Berlin
The concept for the production was developed as part of the project "Hakara - Encountering Transgenerational Trauma" by AMCHA Deutschland e. V. and was funded by the Federal Foreign Office. AMCHA Germany is committed to providing non-material, psychosocial and preventive support to Holocaust survivors and their descendants in Israel.
