P14: Schwule Nonnen im Kloster

In *Gay Nuns in the Convent*, Antoni Zawol explores how faith, family, and queer identity intersect, and what happens when a place of oppression becomes a safe space.

Six young people come out to their parents and are sent to a monastery for a week as part of a radical conversion program. To their surprise, the monastery is just a front, created by a drag Mother Superior to protect queer youth. Over the course of the week, the six confront their queerness as well as their relationship to religion and family—and in the process must learn to come to terms with themselves.

Antoni is directing *Gay Nuns in the Convent* for the first time. Together with Amadou, who have been performing with P14 for some time and have just graduated from high school, they offer insight into how they came to join P14.

What do you do when you’re not at the theater?

Antek: I just graduated from high school and am trying to find my way in life. I also sing a lot—right now I’m training in classical singing, but I also sing in a rock band.

Amadou: Dancing. Why do you want to do theater?

Antek: Theater has been a huge passion of mine since I was a child. I love being surrounded by creative and artistically talented people.

Amadou: I like doing theater because it gives me the courage to be someone other than myself and to see myself and those around me from new perspectives. Theater is the only place where I feel like I have a strong voice.

Antek, you titled the play *Gay Nuns in the Convent*. How did the idea come about, and what part of yourselves is in it?

Antek: The idea came to me when I saw a P14 play for the first time, and the stage design conjured up an image in my mind of a nun in a glittering habit. The rest developed from there. For me, the play is a self-reflective and personal exploration of queer identities and experiences.

Amadou: I’ll be developing the choreography for the play and hope to leave traces of my language—dance—in the production to enrich the narrative. P14 is the youth theater of the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz. For over 30 years, young theater artists have been calling the shots here.

To become part of P14, send an email to P14@volksbuehne-berlin.de.