To Be In A Time Of War

An elderly lady and a young woman are in an apartment. Outside, a war is raging  – somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Etel Adnan's poem To Be In A Time Of War is interwoven with documentary sound and video elements to create an emotionally dense tableau of familial existence between everyday life and crisis. In the performance, the audience moves freely through the space, listens to Etel Adnan's poem, and breathes in the smells of the kitchen. Stage and audience merge - the private sphere becomes a sensual experience. Meanwhile, the protagonists continue their everyday lives – as best they can. They argue, dance, worry. The audience observes the events without disturbing them  – and thus becomes witnesses to an intimacy in a state of emergency.

A performance about memory, disintegration and the fragile bond between generations  – set between past and present, home and loss, the war outside, the war in people's mind, the war in language  – and the longing for peace.

Watch the Trailer

Premiere 2/Oktober 2025

Motiv: Esra Rotthoff
Stage photos: Ute Langkafel
Trailer: Etritanë Emini 

Part of 7th Berliner Herbstsalon ЯE:IMAGINE: THE RED HOUSE