
COMMON TONGUE - Berlin's second international Roma theatre festival is looking for a common language in performances from Germany, Italy, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic: What do Roma* have in common with each other, apart from hatred towards them? And how is communication with the rest of society possible after centuries of oppression?
These are stories of mothers who were forcibly sterilized. Of fathers who helped build states that persecuted them. Of girls and women who respond to sexual violence with a curse and who explore how trauma affects intimacy and desire. They are dreams of a society in which ghettoization becomes history once and for all.
Perhaps a common language is possible if everyone focuses on a vision of a future society without oppression of women, men and children. If Roma* are willing to tell their stories and the Gadje listen carefully.