Doctor:
What is it she does now? Look, how she rubs her hands.
Gentlewoman:
It is an accustomed action with her, to seem thus
washing her hands: I have known her to continue in
this a quarter of an hour.
— William Shakespeare, Macbeth
»REINHEIT« is inspired by the examination of concepts of control, safety and cleanliness – as a civilizational motor, as a means of emancipation and oppression.
The work revolves around the meticulous reconstruction of a seemingly endless, compulsive hand-washing loop: a scenic artifact from the heyday of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which has dominated the everyday life of theatre-maker Oliver Zahn in recent years.
Oliver Zahn is a theater maker and performer. His work is always based on extensive research – ethnographic, archive-based and embodying self-experimentation.
TRIGGER WARNING
The performance contains scenes that address and depict mental illness and could therefore be disturbing for viewers.
A production by Oliver Zahn in cooperation with Ballhaus Ost. Supported by the Hauptstadtkulturfonds.
