- Of people who take the risky route across the Mediterranean in the hope of finding safety in Europe
The Mediterranean Monologues are documentary theater. Author Michael Ruf (Wort und Herzschlag) conducts interviews that last several hours, sometimes several days. These interviews are then merely shortened and condensed. Nothing is added and the linguistic expression is maintained. Verbatim, word-for-word theater.
Inspired by these interviews, Michael Ruf also wrote song texts that were musically realized in collaboration with composers. This is how "Tons of Water" (composition: Marlène Colle), "We fall into silence" (composition: Torsten Knoll) and "The Memories always return" (composition: Peer Kleinschmidt) were created. Since December 2021, these songs have been an integral part of the Mediterranean Monologues.
The Mediterranean Monologues tell the story of people who take the risky route across the Mediterranean in the hope of being able to live in safety in Europe - of Libyan coast guards, Italian sea rescue centers and German authorities who prevent this, and of activists who do something to stop the dying on the Mediterranean.
These activists convince the coast guards as volunteers at the Alarmphone to save people in distress at sea or learn on the Seawatch to save people from drowning - in short, they do what is actually the most natural thing, but which is anything but natural in the year 2022: saving human life!
It is as if the actors directly address the people in the audience, reach out to them and draw them into a world that from now on will no longer leave the audience cold: entangled, intertwined, connected and networked with the protagonists of the Mediterranean Monologues, the audience follows the paths of the narrated stories with suspense.
When the actors whisper, remain silent, gently throw a word into the room, now and then become louder, raise their voices in a demanding or angry manner, once even almost shouting, then the sounds do not reach the audience in an abstract way, then the audience is hit and touched directly and in all their physicality by what is said. When the actress looks at the audience, they become involved in the event, which they know and believe to have taken place in reality.
Additional information
We do apologize that the following information is currently only available in German.
