Panel discussion on (in)visibilities in theatre

Theatre ‒ being an integral part of our society ‒ is not a space free of power structures. The symbols that are used on stage, the way they are realised aesthetically, and the audience envisioned when making creative decisions, points to visibility and invisibility of certain social perspectives, everyday realities and experiences. If nothing else, this becomes evident in the selection of plays invited for festivals such as Berliner Theatertreffen or Foreign Affairs in the past years, in the allocation of subsidies as well as in public debates on racist practices of representation.
How can theatre reflect the diversity of the experience of everyday realities without constantly recurring to the same stereotyped symbols and assignments of identity which often reproduce racism? How can the strategies and mechanisms preserving the prerogative of interpretation and privileges be exposed and changed and realities that have long become common experiences be brought onto the stage using new narratives? What spaces does theatre need to push into to achieve this?
After discussion panels such as Facing Black People on the issue of blackfacing, Black Intervention during the so-called dispute on children’s books, and Rassismus im Kulturbetrieb (Racism in the Cultural Scene), we will now continue the discussion with representatives from cultural politics, theory, and theatre practice on visions of shaping theatre collectively.

Introductory presentation: Grada Kilomba (writer); panel participants: Barbara Burckhardt (drama critic, juror Theatertreffen), Atif Mohammed Nor Hussein (director), Grada Kilomba, Helge Rehders (Head of Division Senate Chancellery ‒ Cultural Affairs), Thandi Sebe (writer und director); hosted by: Dr. Onur Suzan Nobrega (Goldsmiths, University of London; media and cultural theorist)