The Bright Talk - Working in Exile

with Nastaran Razawi Khorassani

Nastaran Razawi Khorasani was born in Iran and studied at Maastricht Theatre Academy in the Netherlands. As a theatre producer and actress, she works with the Ro Theater, International Theater Amsterdam, Maas Theater and Dance and Nineties Productions, among others. Her work has already won several awards. Together with Davy Pieters, she forms the producer duo Kobe.

After her performance of “Songs for no one“, we will talk to Nastaran about the uncertainties of being an artist in exile.

Sat June 8th 09.06. 9 pm, Theater Rampe (English spoken language)
All BRIGHT TALK events are in English and are free of charge.
Please register by mail to ticket@jes-stuttgart.de

Grote Mensen

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Adults work. And children play. Or they go to kindergarten or school. Or they sleep. And while they sleep, adults, the “big people”, have to keep working. Tidying up in the kitchen. Or working on the broken washing machine. Or typing something up on the computer.
But what do adults really do all day while children are away? Do they put the world in order? Do they take an afternoon nap? Or do they mix everything up? Do adults really have everything under control?

Grote Mensen is an absurdly tragic horror comedy about the lives of adults. Four performers enthusiastically fail to plug a dripping hole in the ceiling. With little language and fantastic slapstick, the seemingly controlled world of adults falls apart before the eyes of the children in the audience. And the question remains: who actually cleans up whose mess in the end?

Age 4+
Duration: 60 minutes
Prices: Children/teenagers 5,50 € / adults 11,00 €
Venue: JES Theatersaal

Zukunft

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The climate catastrophe is here. So what now? While some are still making climate change a matter of faith and hoping that everything will remain more or less as it was, others are facing the facts and asking themselves the question: what do we do next? Does the pressure to act on politics, business and society possibly offer the chance of a better, fairer, more sustainable future? And if not, what options do we have?

Theatre maker Arne Vogelgesang and actors from JUNGES STAATSTHEATER KARLSRUHE ensemble have created a theatre play in which you – the audience – determine the path: The starting point is our present. Visions of the future compete against each other in three rounds. Via applause you decide what the end of the play and thus our future could look like. Will we end up in high-tech ultra-capitalism in 2070? In solar-punk communism? In the eco-social market economy? Play along and find out!

More information about “Zukunft“.

Age 14+
Duration: 75 minutes
Prices: Children/teenagers 7,00 € / adults 14,00 €
Venue: JES Theatersaal

Die Nacht so groß wie wir

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The five of us. Together. Through the night, onto the city ring road, through the chaos, the party and the silence: “The five of us” are Pavlov, Maja, Suse, Tolga and Bo. They have belonged together for years. But on this night after their graduation party, everything is put to the test. On this night, which they declare to be the last night of their youth, they come face to face with their own personal monsters: “Tonight we must die” is the incantatory formula that no one can escape. We must die in order to be reborn.
From now on, nothing is certain. The connection between the five protagonists becomes shaky. Their bodies shake not only to the beat of the party, but increasingly follow the rhythm of uncertainty of whether their friendship will be shattered by the revelation of the next secret.

Choreographer Lin Verleger and director Monika Kosik find their own body language that combines with intoxicating words. Author Sarah Jäger composes a captivatingly pure and humorous language in her novel for young people. The result is a multi-perspective tale of friendships, rifts and encounters between party ecstasy and existential questions.

More information about “Die Nacht so groß wie wir“.

Age 14+
Duration: 90 minutes
Prices: Children/teenagers 7,00 € / adults 14,00 €
Venue: JES Theatersaal

What the Body?!

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Growing up. Becoming a man? Becoming a woman? Becoming me? Our body grows and we catch up to it. Or we don’t. “What do you think about when it comes to the body?” is one of many questions from the initial research for WHAT THE BODY? !

The production team led by actress Lisa Bräuniger and director Anne Wittmiß went into school classes and conducted interviews with a wide variety of body owners, weaving them into a fast-paced body rollercoaster. We look through the burning glass of ideals. Keeping nothing secret. Discuss the body loudly. Ask questions. Allow doubts. Change shapes. This fast-paced and humorous production directly addresses the lives of young people and examines the process of growing up in a normative world.
In order to not only talk about bodies, but also feel them, WHAT THE BODY?! has gotten rid of seats and invites you to stand, run and dance.

More information about “WHAT THE BODY?!”.

From age 13, from grade 7
Duration: 60 minutes
Prices: Children/teenagers 7,00 € / adults 14,00 €
Venue: JES Studio 1

Wider die Tyrannei!

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Age 13+
Duration: 90 minutes
Prices: Children/teenagers 7,00 € / adults 14,00 €
Venue: FITZ Saal

Ida y Vuelta

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The performance “Ida y vuelta – Hin und Zurück” will take place simultaneously at the Teatro Yuyachkani Lima and the FITZ Stuttgart and will connect audiences in Peru and Germany via livestream.
What opportunities are there to connect with each other? And why is that so important right now? The performers in both countries move towards each other and invite the audience on an expedition. Fantastic views, unexpected encounters and turbulences ahead.
What lies between us? 10,000 kilometres, an ocean and a time difference of six hours. We meet in the middle!

The collaborating artists from Cargo-Theater Freiburg, Teatro Yuyachkani and Elgalpon.espacio from Lima have been maintaining contact and artistic exchange for more than 12 years. “Ida y Vuelta” is the second joint co-production that builds on this long-standing collaboration.

More information about “Ida y vuelta – Hin und zurück”.

From 12 years, from grade 6 – 9
Duration: 90 minutes
Prices: Children/teenagers 7,00 € / adults 14,00 €
Venue: FITZ Saal

Schaum ich an

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It’s not solid and not liquid. Sometimes it’s very light and airy, sometimes solid, almost like stone: foam. Foam is practically everywhere! In the bath, in the sink, in the walls, on waves, on skin before shaving, in egg whites when whipped, in cola, well shaken, anyway: effervescent powder. Construction foam. Foam soup. Foaming with rage. . And if you put washing soap in the dishwasher, you get an infinite amount of foam. You can also make foam with spit. And foam makes noises. When you blow onto it, when small and large bubbles burst, when you tap it or sing into it. Foam parties exist for a reason, after all.

In this new production for the very youngest audiences, the Young National Theatre, directed by Lara Kaiser, continues its material research for the 2+ age group. After balls, mud and colours, the artistic team now turns its attention to the everyday phenomenon of foam and asks itself how it can be viewed, made to sound, dance and disappear in the theatre space.

More information about “Schaum ich an”.

Ages 2+, Kindergarten
Dauer: 30 Minuten plus 20 Minuten Nachspiel
Prices: Children/teenager 3,00 € / Adults 5,00 €
Venue: Theater tri-bühne Saal 2

Aus der Kurve fliegen - Host performance

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Do you dare? – Angélica, Lola, Maxi, Estelle, Stefan and Jule ask as they challenge themselves and each other on the JES stage: Maxi and Angélica test how far they can go. Estelle sings: “My life is too much of a risk, that’s why I’ll stay here like this forever” – but is certain that there must be another way. Stefan tries to fly while Jule tries to let herself fall and Lola perhaps tries talking about her scars.
All six face their challenges, desires and fears, try again and again in different ways and want to know: Where are limits, how can they be found, preserved, set or blown asunder?
“Aus der Kurve fliegen” encourages people to trust each other and celebrate life together despite, but also because of, its uncertainties. With booming bass music, elements of breakdance and contemporary dance, “Aus der Kurve fliegen” invites you to dive in, overcome your fears and unearth your longings.

JES director Grete Pagan was nominated for the FAUST 2023 theatre prize in the “Theatre for Young Audiences” category with her urban dance theatre piece “Aus der Kurve fliegen”.

Age 10+
Duration 60 minutes
Prices: Children/teenagers 7,00 € / adults 14,00 €
Venue: JES Theatersaal

Wutschweiger

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Ebeneser’s world is shrinking: since his parents no longer have a job, everything is getting smaller and smaller – the opportunities, the flat and, ultimately, his father and mother themselves. Sammy is already familiar the experience and Ebeneser can share his “because we can’t afford it” experiences with her, as well as Tic Tacs, stories and fantasies, anger and courage. And when the “because we can’t afford it” costs them the school trip they have been looking forward to, the two of them decide not to let it get them down, but to remain loud in their silence.

This multi-award-winning children’s play uses subtle humour and strong images of a great friendship to (quietly) protest against disappearance and concealment.

More information about “Wutschweiger“.

Age 9+
Duration: 80 minutes
Prices: Children/teenagers 7,00 € / adults 14,00 €
Venue: FITZ Saal

Songs for no one

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What does it mean to live in a dictatorship? What thoughts and hopes keep the young generation in Iran on their feet? The performer Nastaran Razawi Khorasani spent several months talking on the phone to two children growing up in Iran. The soundtrack of the conversations forms the basis of this theatre evening. In Farsi, the two talk about computer games, New Year’s Eve plans, everyday situations and special encounters In the process, they repeatedly and incidentally touch on big themes such as courage and freedom, censorship, self-censorship and life dreams. Their thoughts are projected onto the stage set in German and English. 
The sound space is complemented by rousing pop songs that Nastaran and the musician Jimi Zoet wrote together with the two children, who remain anonymous throughout the play. 
Nastaran accompanies the soundtrack performatively. She supports and complements the young people’s stories with unconditional devotion and unprecedented restraint. She gives her body and her resources as an artist in Europe over to the question of how she can share the stage with people who have no access to it.

More information about “Songs for no one“.

The Bright Talk – Working from Exile withNastaran Razawi Khorasani, Son June 9th 09.6. 9 pm, Theater Rampe

Age 14+ (no age restriction upwards)
Duration: 70 minutes
Prices: Children/teenagers 7,00 € / adults 14,00 €
Venue: Theater Rampe

The Enlightened

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“The Enlightened” spins a web of post-colonial secrets about a young white man who went to India in search of enlightenment and disappeared without a trace. As friends, family and internet detectives focus on a digital trail of tiny breadcrumbs, uncomfortable truths come to light, dangerous lies are uncovered and everyone is forced to ask the question: How important is the truth ultimately?

“The Enlightened” is a true crime thriller that delves into the infinite depths of the internet. It tells a fictional story inspired by true events. The audience is invited to participate in a collective meditation session that takes place between physical, digital and spiritual worlds, exploring human connection and the need to make sense of chaos.

At the same time, performers tell this ‘true’ crime story on the JES stage and in their private homes in India. “The Enlightened” can be viewed by the audience at JES and streamed live on the internet at the same time. Moreover, all viewers have the opportunity to participate in a WhatsApp group chat during the play. The show combines elements of crime history, theatre, film and digitality to create a unique and immersive experience without losing its contemporary and political relevance.

More information about “The Enlightened”.

Age 14+
Duration: 90 minutes
Prices: Children/teenagers 7,00 € / adults 14,00 €
Venue: JES Theatersaal

Kaffee mit Zucker?

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The two materials coffee and sugar dominate the stage in their different aggregate states. Using coffee and sugar as starting points, German immigration history in Central America and its colonial structures, which live on to this day, are negotiated. The performer Laia RiCa and the live musician Yahima Piedra Córdova share their expertise in being in-between: The struggle with two worlds, the constant suspicion of one’s betrayal of “roots”, the questioning of feelings of inferiority and superiority and the open question of what to do with the knowledge of global injustice.

Coffee and sugar are simultaneously the starting point for this research-based material performance, the basis for the documentary lecture performance about post-colonial continuities, consumption and globalisation, as well as a metaphor for biographically supported narratives of identity politics, family history and everyday racism.
The complexity of the content interweaves with the complexity of its methods (documentary film and video art, object theatre and live music, narrative and movement theatre) to create a visually powerful and sensual theatre lesson. 

More information about “Kaffee mit Zucker?”.

Age 12+ (no upper age limit)
Duration: 60 minutes
Prices: Children/teenagers 7,00 € / adults 14,00 €
Venue: Theater Rampe

Unter Drachen

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Ira has built something after her grandfather’s death: a place for feelings, a memory playground. She invites the audience into her “cave” and encourages them to let their thoughts wander and allow their feelings to be heard.
What is it like to lose a loved one? How can a relationship continue after death and what comforts us? Ira talks about shared experiences with her grandfather Mate, his death and the time afterwards. With the help of the audience, she talks about memories, rituals and wishes.

“Unter Drachen” is both narrative theatre and an immersive experience. This solo impresses with its acting precision, interwoven with everything theatre has to offer: (stage) space, light, sound and video. The delicate moments of interaction are carefully guided and create a feeling of togetherness between audience and performer. “Unter Drachen” is an encouraging piece of theatre that shines a bright light onto the taboo subject of “death” and – without trivialising it in any way – takes away some of its horror by simply allowing feelings to be present.

More infomation about “Unter Drachen”.

Age 8+
Duration: 60 minutes
Prices: Children/teenagers 7,00 € / adults 14,00 €
Venue: Theater tri-bühne Saal 1

Forever

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What if we lived forever? How do you imagine your own death? Who can die the most dramatically on stage?
With the help of interviews, games and workshops, children aged 8 to 12 developed very personal answers and fantasies to these questions. The resulting material forms the basis of this dance performance by choreographer Tabea Martin.
Together with five professional dancers, Martins FOREVER creates a world of immortality where the children’s fantasies bring ancient gods and creatures back to life.

With many litres of fake blood, buckets of tears and a washable stage surface, this contemporary dance performance is a visual, sensual, sensitive and humorous journey through the visual language of children.
FOREVER asks: How do children think about life and death, about dying and immortality? What fantasies do they have about life after death? And to what extent can and should we confront children with this topic in theatre contexts?

More information about “FOREVER”.

The Bright Talk – Working between disciplines with Tabea Martin, Thu June 13th 13.6. 9 pm, FITZ Studio

Ages 8+
Duration: 65 minutes
Prices: Children/teenagers 7,00 € / adults 14,00 €
Venue: Theater Rampe

Goodbye Stracciatella

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What can you do without? What do you want to do without? And what not? Two dancers meet on an empty stage. Both are carrying a large bag filled with questions They have with them what is necessary – and perhaps what is not Sometimes they are close and tender with each other. Sometimes they push each other away and fight. Sometimes they dance freely. They question themselves and they question each other. Do you need that? Do you need me? It is a tale of friendship and letting go that searches for what remains when two people meet.

The Swiss company BewegGrund has been promoting inclusive dance since 1998. Since then, BewegGrund has been working on a natural coexistence of people with and without disabilities on and behind the stage. “Goodbye Stracciatella” is the first joint work with choreographer Tabea Martin.

More Information about „Goodbye Stracciatella“.

Age 6+
Duration: 30 minutes, Introduction 15 minutes before, After Talk
Prices: Children/teenagers 5,50 €, adults 11,00 €
Venue: FITZ Saal

Familie Grrr

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It stinks… The stench is extraordinary, even. What is that? A fart? Mould in the corner? Parents arguing?
Whatever you think of the Grrr family, it’s not like that.  The parents’ quarrel is getting bigger and more absurd, outgrowing everyone and everything. Who is listening to whom? Is anyone listening to anyone else at all?

“Familie Grrr” is a turbulent production about the unrest and upheavals that occur when arguments between parents boil over, shaking and shattering supposedly solid family structures. Together with De Nwe Tijd / Suzanne Grotenhuis and Suze Milius, the Belgian company hetpaleis has created a theatre piece that addresses the topic of divorce in families in a humorous and experimental manner.

The performances will be followed by a discussion with the artists.

Age 5+
Duration: 45 minutes
Prices: children/teenagers 5,5,€ , adults 11€
Venue: JES Theatersaal

Lifted

Three bodies meet in public space. They hold each other and support each other. What is it like to be carried by another person? What if one person carries two others? What if a person doesn’t want to be carried? And what if we all hold one another, uplifting, enduring, holding on to one another tightly?
The images that the three performers create in “Lifted” tell stories of falling and being caught, of belonging and being marginalised, of trust and courage.

The London-based company Mimbre combines acrobatics, theatre and dance. In their work, they challenge gender stereotypes in art and society and shape a positive and diverse image of cis and trans women and non-binary people.
“Lifted” was created in collaboration with the three guest choreographers Yi-Chun Liu, HURyCAN and Gary Clarke.

More information about “Lifted”.

For the whole family
Duration: 40 minutes
Prices: free or on a donation basis
Open Air

We carry

PREMIERE: June 2024

We all carry small burdens through life, individually and together.

But who carries what, to whom do we pass on things, how heavy do these things weigh and can we perhaps share the weight or even let it go? How far can we look into our past and can this change the future? In “We carry”, an intergenerational ensemble between 8 and 60 years of age gets to the bottom of these questions.

In order to do so, they create their own world of sound and dance in which solidarity and responsibilities between generations can be renegotiated.

This dance theatre production takes place in collaboration with Fundus Theater Hamburg and is a co-production with the choreographers Lina Höhne and Teresa Hoffmann.
Funded by the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media and the Fonds Darstellende Künste in the Production Funding Program with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

Ages 7 and up, grades 2 and up
Prices: Children/young adults €7.00, adults €12.00

SHAME – The Musical

PREMIERE: 24.02.2024

JES goes musical – with everything that goes with it: soulful songs, a pop band, a large cast and an elaborate dance choreography.

We ask: how can we start a conversation about the social construct of shame? How does this feeling influence our personal development and the way we deal with our bodies and sexuality?

Five performers and a band meet on the big stage and tell, sing and perform a musical written exclusively for JES. And just like any real musical, it will be loud, colourful, emotional and embarrassing.

In cooperation with the Popakademie Mannheim, which has put together a pop band from its students, and the PH Ludwigsburg, whose students are developing the educational program.

Supported by Fonds Jupiter Fund of the German Federal Cultural Foundation

*AI: Artificial Intelligence

Ages 12 and up, grades 6 and up.
Duration: approx. 90 minutes (without a break)
Prices: Children/young adults €7.00, adults €12.00

Das Herz eines Boxers

PREMIERE: May 11, 2024

Jojo has been sentenced by juvenile court. The punishment: painting walls in an old age home. Jojo ends up in Leo’s room in a bad mood, who doesn’t utter a word – until it turns out that Jojo isn’t actually guilty. Leo begins to talk about himself and admits that he is only keeping quiet so that the nurses will leave him alone. And it turns out: he used to be a boxing legend! Jojo tells Leo about friends who are not really friends at all and about the major insecurities regarding his future. Expectations begin to crumble on both sides and conversations about being excluded, about trust and the courage to take responsibility for one another develop. A friendship develops that challenges Leo and Jojo to jump over their shadows.

Ages 12 and up, grades 7 an up
Prices: Children/young adults €7.00, adults €12.00

Aus heiterem Himmel

translated from English by Thomas Bodmer.

Premiere: 20th April 2024

I like standing here, this is my favourite place, the turtle thinks to itself and sniffs at a flower. But what happens when a new friend shows up, but has a bad feeling about the place and would rather stand somewhere else? Do you then leave the place you have come to love? Do you insist that the other person come to me, no matter the cost? Or do we meet in the middle, unfamiliar to both of us?
With just a few words, the Canadian-American animator, illustrator and writer Jon Klassen has created a whole little universe of feelings around friendship in his new picture book “Out of the Blue” / “The Rock from the Sky”, full of fears and reservations, suspicions and wishes.

Patricija Katica Bronić will develop a playful realisation for the stage in her first directing work at JES.

Ages 4 and up, daycare, grades 1-2.
Prices: Children/young adults €5.50, adults €8.00

Land behind the Curtain

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Hero has been waiting for a long time. A really long time. For an adventure, for an exciting journey full of challenges, dangers and dragons! Then he finally gets a call that changes everything. Hero is suddenly in a land that has fallen out of balance: Exclamation Face has stolen Questionhead’s hat. Since then, no one has been able to ask questions anymore and everything is in chaos. Together with Sidekick, Hero sets out to find the hat – but not everything works out the way Hero had always imagined an adventure would…

With “Land behind the Curtain”, JES invites you to immerse yourself: Into an imaginative world full of surprises and funny twists, but also full of dangers and doubts that have to be overcome. We ask ourselves the big questions of all fantasy tales:

What is worth fighting for? Does it even make sense to fight? Is there no other way? And does one person always have to save the world alone, or does it not take at least two, or even many more?

Ages 11 and up, grades 5–8
Duration: approx. 80 minutes (without a break)
Prices: Children/young adults €7.00, adults €12.00

Warum das Kind in der Polenta kocht

“I only know my country by its smell. It smells like my mother’s food. My father says you remember the smell of your country everywhere, but you only recognise it when you are far away.”

“Warum das Kind in der Polenta kocht” is the story of a young girl growing up between two worlds: the colourfully transfigured home of the circus and caravans and the harsh reality of being a constant stranger on the road.

An actress and a young girl who confront the story of Agalja Veteranyi or on stage at JES. Together with director Yeşim Schaub, they search for the multi-layered, sometimes contradictory and branching feeling of being a stranger within the opposing perspectives of the characters, which are also repeatedly broken by precisely drawn images, and deal with the subject matter impressively. How is it possible to share the experience of homelessness despite different histories, ages and backgrounds? Especially in times of current wars and flight movements, Aglaya’s search for a place she can arrive intersects inseparably with the reality that surrounds us.

Aus der Kurve fliegen

Unsere große Welt

Hidden object books are full of people and animals, trees and houses, small comedies and big tragedies. Everything at the same time and right next to each other. All the diversity that our society has to offer, that makes up our small, big world.

Together with the ensemble, director Grete Pagan has investigated which of the peculiarities and principles of hidden object books can be transferred to the stage. Starting with the audience situation, i.e., a view from above instead of a pram perspective, to the different perceptions of children and adults, i.e., naïve explorations of the world here, recognition and analysis on the other side, and all the way to the dramaturgy: in hidden object books, there isn’t only one common thread, but many loose threads that initially have no further connection than a common place, for example, but which are nevertheless loosely linked and sometimes lead to surprising encounters and constellations. A kaleidoscope of everyday life thus emerges from 100 small details that reappear, change and rearrange themselves.

In this way, hidden object books and as well as our hidden object piece offer the possibility to appropriate a piece of the big world. When one’s own safe surroundings have been explored, the discovery of the immediate surroundings, of one’s own and that of the others, begins. Like an emerging image, life unfolds its diversity, the viewers put themselves more and more into relationship(s) with each other and begin to interact.

Die Bremer Stadtmusiktiere

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They agreed on one thing from the beginning: they would definitely find something better than death. But what did the donkey, the dog, the cat and the rooster actually find after they chased the robbers out of their hut? Just a protective roof over their heads? Or a new home? Or community? How do you live together when you are so different and have different needs?

Because music almost always helps, the four “city music animals” take Donkey by their word and grab microphones and instruments. The stories are their own, but what kind of music is appropriate? And does it rather take a good choreography, a fresh band name or simply lots of practice to actually make a name for oneself?

The JES Ensemble tells the Brothers Grimm fairy tale from a special perspective, with lots of live music.

Ages 6 and up, Daycare, grades 1–4
Duration: 75 minutes
Prices: Children/young people €5.50, adults €8.00

Corpus Delicti

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Science has worked wonders: genetic research, early diagnosis and strict hygiene laws prevent the outbreak of any disease. In the wake of medical progress, common sense has led to a political system that protects its citizens from physical suffering. The price for safety: control and complete surveillance.

Until recently, the young biologist Mia Holl was an unquestioning part of the system and defended it against her rebellious brother Moritz. But then he was convicted of murdering a woman after a DNA test and killed himself in prison. Mia is thrown off track, doubts her brother’s guilt, blames herself, neglects sports and nutritional reports and is targeted by the judicial system. A smoked cigarette is judged as abuse of toxic substances and is seen as endangerment of general welfare. The discussions in court and in the media escalate and Mia becomes the figurehead for the resistance.

Ages 15 and up, grades 10 and up
Duration: 95 minutes, no break
Prices: Children/young adults €7.00, adults €12.00