Interview with Nino Haratischwili
In Bratislava, rehearsals for LAND DER ERSTEN DINGE / Bludičky, the co-production of Deutsches Theater Berlin and the
National Theatre Bratislava have begun. Shortly before her journey home to
Hamburg playwright Nino Haratischwili describes the first three days of
rehearsals:
“I think it
is impressive how quickly the involved parties from the two theatres have come
together and that after just a few days of rehearsals we have already become a
team, in spite of the many communication and translation problems. The coming
together and the growing mutual awareness of the two groups from different
countries, their cultures, their temperaments and their modes of expression is
inspiring for everyone and can be used as a major source of creativity. I am
excited to know that we have four brilliant actors and a young production team
who will, in the coming weeks, make my play into their own story”.
From now on rehearsals will continue without
you. How does that make you feel?
“It is sad
but I feel that it is also right. At this stage of the process I, as the
author, am no longer needed even though I would have loved to continue working
on it. But I am looking forward to attending further rehearsals in Berlin and
the premiere on 14th November”.
What aspect of this project posed the biggest
difficulty for you?
“The
biggest difficulty was also the biggest challenge. When you are commissioned as
an author, you are usually in contact with a dramaturge, maybe even a stage or
theatre director who supports you in working on ideas and first drafts. But for LAND DER ERSTEN DINGE I was in
contact with two theatres, four dramaturges and very different ways of
communicating and different historical backgrounds. Owing to the distance (I
live in Hamburg) as well as the language barriers we had to find a common level
of communication. This was, ultimately, very productive and an important
learning process for me but it also gave me a few grey hairs which brings us
back to “The Art of Ageing”. (Laughs)
How did you feel about the topic “The Art of
Ageing”? Was it inspiring or limiting?
“At first I
was a little intimidated by the topic because it so easily takes on a negative
connotation if it is not approached openly enough. But the topic is extremely
important to modern society and so I also wanted to accept the challenge of
dealing with it. Especially, since the topic has a different kind of relevance
in the two countries for which I wrote the play. Questions of the future and
ageing also concern us younger generations”.
The main focus of the play are two older women,
one from West Germany who is confined to her bed after being ill, the other one
from Slovakia, who nurses her. They cannot avoid engaging and dealing with each
other. A hopeless situation?
For the two
women the situation certainly seems to offer little hope and no way out. But they
have no other option than getting to know each other and, over the course of
the play, come to value each other’s life stories, quirks, sense of humour and
problems. The fact that we have two
actors from Bratislava who speak both German and Slovakian was a huge asset. This
made it possible for me to incorporate their linguistic abilities into the play
from an early stage”.
And finally: What is the art of ageing for you?
“I believe
it means not to isolate yourself, not to live in the past and to stay inquisitive.
But this is not the sole responsibility of the ageing individual but also of
society which, in times of youth obsession and superficiality, makes the topic
of “living in old age” a taboo. That needs to be changed”.
Interview: Ulrich Beck
