THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - KINGDOM OF THE SYNTHETIC

Ariel Efraim Ashbel and friends (Tel Aviv | Berlin)

 

07.11. 9.00 pm - 10.30 pm

Muffathalle

 

Entrance € 12 | Reduced € 7

 

NEW WORKS talk on November 7, 11 a.m. at Muffatwerk | Ampère

 

No language skills required

 

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: KINGDOM OF THE SYNTHETIC is an experiment in sci-fi anthropology. Suffused with nostalgia for Empire, Ariel Efraim Ashbel takes his ensemble of performers, musicians, scientists, artifacts and robots on a voyage through the history of the future, the future of race and the science of difference. A work of visual and ideological hybridism, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK indulges in the arresting representational fierceness of Empire, while declaring war on both the violent racist legacies of 'humanism' and the uncreative dystopia of identity politics.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: KINGDOM OF THE SYNTHETIC is the sequel to the piece ALL WHITE PEOPLE LOOK THE SAME TO ME, which was the international troupe's debut in HAU Hebbel am Ufer (Berlin) in 2013. In an exuberant, hybrid revue, Ashbel's new work plays with a wide range of historical, textual, visual and musical references from Afrofuturism to constructivism, science fiction and Techno-culture. Taking off where his last show concluded, the Empire strikes at a further sensual, spatial and choreographic abstraction: from identity to the body; from representation to surface; from White people to the black box of the theater. Faced with fierce humanist resistance, Ashbel's mob of freedom fighters combats evil lords, opening up a horizon of new theatrical mutations and unimaginable spectacles.

 

READ MORE:
Cast
Direction Ariel Efraim Ashbel Research and concept Romm Lewkowicz By and with Santiago Blaum, Jessica Gadani, Tamara Saphir, Tatiana Saphir and Jan-Sebastian Suba Featuring Hacklander \ Hatam, Mat Hand Director visuals Alona Rodeh Costumes Sandra Fink Musical director Yoni Silver Technical director Yair Reshef Light design Andreas Harder Outside eye Stefanie Wenner Assistant to the director Joseph Wegmann Production intern Daniel Sauermilch Production and press björn&björn

 

Biography
The Israeli artist Ariel Efraim Ashbel (b. 1982) lives and works in Berlin. Since 2000, in his works this theater director has been concerned with the development of the interdisciplinary structures that are to be found in the gaps between theater, dance, music, and installation. In addition, he works as a performer, dramatic advisor, and occasionally as a light designer. From 2008 to 2010 he was a member of the team of artistic directors of »IntimaDance,« a festival of contemporary dance and performance at Tmuna Theater in Tel Aviv. Ariel Efraim Ashbel is a graduate of the School of Visual Theater Jerusalem (2006) and has a degree in history and philosophy from Tel Aviv University (2010). In 2013 he directed ALL WHITE PEOPLE LOOK THE SAME TO ME: NOTES ON THE NATIONAL PORNOGRAPHIC at the HAU Hebbel am Ufer theater.

 

Production and realization
Production Ariel Efraim Ashbel and friends. Coproduction: HAU Hebbel am Ufer (Berlin), Kampnagel (Hamburg), FFT (Düsseldorf). Funded by the Capital Cultural Fund (Berlin)