RAUSCH

Rausch (Intoxication) is the title of the new novel by author and director Nuran David Calis, who is at home in several artistic worlds – between stage, film, and literature. The novel centers on Ufuk, who grows up in Bielefeld as the child of Armenian-Turkish asylum seekers. In 1990s Germany, he experiences hatred and violence against foreigners, with fear and rejection dominating everyday life. As an adult, he becomes a director and processes his own childhood experiences in a production of Odysseus. His girlfriend Johanna comes from a wealthy background, where Ufuk is seen as exotic. Everything seems to be going well, but soon politics intrudes on art, and social tensions eat away at interpersonal relationships.
 
Following his debut novel Der Mond ist unsere Sonne (The Moon is Our Sun), in which Calis traces a family history that tells of both the persecution of Armenians and life as a migrant in post-war Germany, he continues his exploration of origin, belonging, and social tension. Rausch is a breathless search for identity – an ambiguous and haunting story from the heart of our country. 

Nuran David Calis, who previously staged the production Verhaftung in Granada (Arrest in Granada) at the Gorki Theater, once again demonstrates with this novel how closely art, biography, and political awareness are interwoven in his work.