Abdruckkörper

The Afro-German protagonist of "Imprint Body" navigates his body with and against the prescribed direction. Because the direction is marked. German society is a labyrinth: walls produce visibility and exclusion, paths trodden by others form networks of relationships and clusters of capital. Whiteness is inscribed in the social fabric. The protagonist, the self, staggers.


One's own body is the stake on the track to the top. It's going up, isn't it? It's moved along the track, not voluntarily, not always consciously; it follows the track and simultaneously feels the centrifugal forces, the risk of breaking free. One's own body is the stake, after all, it's malleable, from within, from without. And society, is it malleable? With what stake?

"Imprint Bodies" is the theatrical debut of film director Yatri Niehaus. The dramatic text was written as part of the Unconventional Signs writing workshop at Ballhaus Naunynstraße during the 2020/21 season.


The world premiere of this text marks a unique continuity:

Following "Wearing Black" (Elizabeth Blonzen, 2013), "Corn in Germany and Other Galaxies" (Olivia Wenzel, 2015), "Young, Toxic, and Black" (Amina Eisner and Thandi Sebe, 2015), "Walking Large" (Toks Körner, 2017), "Call Me Queen" (Thandi Sebe, 2017), "Aesthetics of Color" (Toks Körner, 2019), and "Courageous! Fearless!" (Amina Eisner and Atif Mohammed Nor Hussein, 2021), it is the eighth Afro-German drama to be created and performed at the theater.


(in German with English subtitles)