Open rehearsal: “Als lebten wir in einem barmherzigen Land”

Should we show mercy to the merciless? Two versions of reality clash in this gripping story, but hate does not have the last word. Anna is a primary school teacher who still wants to make the world a better place – just as she did 25 years ago when she protested alongside the clowns of the Unrule OrKestrA street theatre troupe against the cynical politics of the British government. At the time, she had no inkling that her then lover “Buster”, a voodoo figure in top hat and tails, was an informant who was betraying them all.

Anna’s reunion with her ex-lover takes place in a courtroom in late 2019 – shortly before the outbreak of the pandemic. She embarks on the hunt for her tormentor and places herself in extreme danger. How far does evil reach? And can Anna keep herself free from it?

In this play, two contrasting perspectives are adroitly intertwined: Anna’s diary (written on recycled paper during the pandemic) and the notes of the undercover cop-turned-killer “Buster” who justifies his cold-blooded murders as a way to rid the world of its worst villains. Two voices, two genders, two world views, two loving men around Anna, two deep crises and two fairy tales. A linguistically brilliant story about our deeply troubling times.

“For 4,000 years we’ve been telling each other that we can defeat any monster if we know its true identity.”