Theater Freiburg @ Meckelhalle, Sparkasse Bank, Freiburg
12th – 20th February 2016
Freiburg 2016
Having staged the show in Bonn in September the rice remained in Germany and made the journeysouth to be reused here in Freiburg. Hosted by Theater Freiburg, the show was staged in thesplendid setting of the Meckelhalle, an exhibition and performance space within the Sparkasse bank in the heart of the city. Of All The People In All The Worldwas programmed as part of the theatre’s ‘Face The Face’ season which included a range of work looking at how stories, memories and history are shared andhow an audience interacts with the artistic presentation of these. The show featured a range of statistics about the local area – its history, its institutions and its reputation as a pioneering ‘green city’. The issue of asylum seekers entering Europe and Germany was very current and so played a large part in the show. With over 200 visitors each dayattendances were very good and people were very keen to discuss the show, question us and offer thoughts and ideas. It was lovely to meet up with some old friends of the show; Volker, Ina and Vanessa, who worked on the world version in Stuttgart way back in 2005.
On the final day, as part of a cultural heritage project collabration between Theater Freiburg and The Museum of Modern Art, audience members were invited to take away small prepared bags of rice. They signed theirnames in a museum record book and in so doing became rice custodians for a year, promising to return their grains in March 2017. During the year they willconsider who the grains of rice in their care might represent – to think about what are significant personal, national or international moments and record their ideas. In twelve months timewe will all gather again in the museum to restage the show, using the rice that has been returned and some of the statistics that the rice custodians have recorded. Their grains of rice will be re-cast ina show that will look at what might have changed over the year for the individual, for Freiburg, for the world. We are looking forward to returning and making new discoveries.
This ‘heritage’ version took place as planned, it was called The Great Art Giveaway.
Credits
Performers: Chris Dugrenier, Rochi Rampal, Craig Stephens and Jack Trow
with: Kora Bertsch, Maria Ernhofer and Kerstin Kopp
Concept: James Yarker