Cooperation in times of war“Are we talking about Israel or Palestine? Is the term Middle East a neo-colonial term? In times of war, it is already so unspeakably difficult to reach an understanding about this that it is so easy to fall silent with one another and thus retreat into one's own bastions. With the project ‘DIBBUK - between (two) worlds’, the KULA Compagnie is making exactly the opposite attempt. Shortly after the start of rehearsals, an actress in Iran is evacuated from Tehran to Mashhad on the same weekend because Israeli attacks are expected. And a colleague from Haifa will probably not be able to get to Berlin in time for rehearsals because Israeli airspace has been closed due to imminent attacks from Iran. Nevertheless, actors from seven countries are attempting the almost unimaginable these days. Talking to each other, to come into play with each other and hopefully staying involved while war rages. Where possible live, where not possible via video messages. Not falling silent in respect for the pain of others becomes the actual message. But if we want to take the diversity of the different representations on stage seriously, we must also change our understanding of political theatre. Not to demand common positions in the crisis, but to keep the diversity of diverse interpretations in play, to endure them, is the attempt to counter the language of weapons. To seek words and also to experience the pain of silence as respect and not as silencing.”Khitam Hussein, Yotam Gotal, Robert Schuster

The latest work by the transnational KULA Compagnie is based on one of the most important works of Yiddish literature: the popular story of the ‘Dibbuk’, which the Russian-Jewish writer Salomon An-ski turned into a theatre play in the 1920s. The play tells the story of a Jewish bride and groom whose marriage is prevented by the demon of a dead man – the dybbuk – who enters the bride and takes possession of her. The Hasidic-Jewish love story draws on ancient Persian mysticism, making boundaries visible and blurring them at the same time.