Sun

31.8.

13:00
D E M O N S T R A T I O N

Wed

3.9.

13:00 Exhibition
Festival

Thu

4.9.

13:00 Concert
Festival

Fri

5.9.

13:00 Exhibition
Festival

Sat

6.9.

13:00 Talk
Festival

Sun

7.9.

13:00 Concert
Festival

Sat

13.9.

20:00
maulwerker performing music

Sun

14.9.

20:00 + Artist Talk
maulwerker performing music

Mon

15.9.

18:00
Wanda Dubrau and Juliet Meding

Tue

16.9.

18:00 Thaiboxing

Wed

17.9.

18:00 Training-Dance

Thu

18.9.

17:00 Badminton

Fri

19.9.

17:00 ping pong

Sat

20.9.

13:00 dodgeball

Sun

21.9.

18:00 Berlin premiere
Boys* in Sync

Wed

24.9.

20:00
ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS

Thu

25.9.

20:00
ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS

Sat

27.9.

18:00
krautfuzz & iLan katin | INK | Christian Kesten | Fernanda Farah | Contagious

Thu

16.10.

20:00
The Dames

Sat

18.10.

19:00
The Dames

Fri

31.10.

20:00 Premiere
La Cage

Sat

1.11.

11:00
La Cage

Sat

1.11.

17:00
La Cage

Sun

2.11.

15:00
La Cage

Productions

  • © Oscar Gonzalez

The Crossing

ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS

Heaal ten iaa mo silé mo cacsel vai dol-dol / Cacsel zeza ten taa caden sie ga / A iaa t-helia silé mo helia maa? / A iaa benai sibé mo donia mazze?

 

Somewhere across an unimaginable void, set apart from the rest of humanity, lies a world inhabited only by Queer people. A utopia for sure. But how long would it take for the storm clouds to gather even here? »The Crossing« is the story of how fault lines arise and drive a dissident back across the void to their former home in search of answers to painful questions. In a crumbling theatre in a future Berlin, a city struggling to find its feet again after a series of great upheavals, they stand before an audience. Our speaker once burned with zeal for their new home. But now, they find themselves cast out, unable to conform or stay silent. In brand new words, they tell us the story of their journey back home. Could a revolutionary Queer language be the place where we finally build a home? »The Crossing« is written and performed entirely in Damiá, a Queer language developed by Aslan since they were a teenager. 

 

Originally conceived as a live performance, the film adaptation was created after the 2022 premiere was canceled due to COVID. The film is available online for free for two weeks, from February 28 to March 13, 2023. The text will be translated into English and German with subtitles for the audience.

 

Since 2012, Queer performance collective ONCE WE WERE ISLANDSChris Gylee and Aslan — have worked in the fertile ground between disciplines, combining theatre, film, choreography and research. The two performers deploy (auto)biographical narrative as well as meticulous research on Queer life realities for their poetic works. Most recently at Ballhaus Ost they showed »Karelia. A Queer Forest Fantasy in Two Parts«. 

 

We appreciate donations to the artists.

Direction, text, performance, design Aslan, Chris Gylee Cinematography Ethan Allison Folk Editing Ethan Allison Folk, ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS Light design Elliott Cennetoglu Sound design Mars Dietz German translation Lea Martini Outside Eye Mmakgosi Kgabi Surtitling Advice Panthea

 
A production by ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS in cooperation with Ballhaus Ost. Funded by Hauptstadtkulturfonds, with the kind support of Hiljaisuus / Silence Residency.

Dates
Past Dates
  • Feb 28, 2023