Gesellschaftsspiele: The Art of Assembly XIII. Safe Spaces vs. brave Spaces?

Contemporary stages have become often places to exhibit one’s own injuries, traumas or shame. Theater as a safe space – in the spirit of a concept that emerged in the USA in the 1960s in feminist and civil rights movements: A protected sphere in which one could communicate about one’s own experiences, goals and strategies without already being confronted with permanent opposition from those who already dominate all discourses. But as important as protection against insult, injury, and re-traumatization is – doesn’t theater also have to be a brave space where there are no limits to freedom of expression, where everything can be discussed openly and radically? Perhaps, however, this oft-repeated juxtaposition is already following the wrong path: This episode of The Art of Assembly askes how a theatre can be safer and braver at the same time – behind the scenes as well as on stage.

Gesellschaftsspiele: The Art of Assembly XIV – in cooperation with Theater Neumarkt Zürich

The Art of Assembly series is based on Florian Malzacher. Parlor Games. Political Theater Today. Berlin: Alexander Verlag, 2020.

Curated by Florian Malzacher
The Art of Assembly – Gesellschaftsspiele, a series by Florian Malzacher and brut Wien, in cooperation with Münchner Kammerspiele, Wiener Festwochen, Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Berlin), BIT Teatergarasjen / METEOR 2021, NT Gent and Goethe Institut / Performing Architecture