Reverse Colonialism!

Performance by Ahilan Ratnamohan & Star Boy Collective
Belgium

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Venue: Weltkunstzimmer, Glass Hall
Ronsdorfer Strasse 77a
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Ticket prices:
Adv. booking 22 Euro, conc. 11 Euro
Box office 26 Euro, conc. 13 Euro
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Duration: approx. 120 min.
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In German and English with German translation
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Following the performance on 24 June, an audience discussion with the production team will take place on stage.
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The event is wheelchair accessible.

“Provocative
and
entertaining”
(Süddeutsche Zeitung)

Three West Africans living in Belgium are trying to find the answer to the migration and integration debacle. Their solution is to create a new country for African Europeans and European Africans, where they can decide for themselves how they wish to live. Before this utopian state can be established, the rules have to be set and the audience is allowed to participate by ballot paper. What form of government and what state religion should it have? How and above all where should this promised land be? In the north-west of France or perhaps better in resource-rich Central Africa? In a kind of election debate, moderated by director Ahilan Ratnamohan himself, the various socio-political drafts are presented to the audience and, after a not infrequently pugnatious discussion, a vote is taken.

The sobering life situation of the Star Boy Collective, a group of former footballers, was the true motivation for the development of the play “Reverse Colonialism!”. Their dream of becoming professional footballers in Belgium did not come true. After a few years of uncertainty, they are now all living legally in Belgium, but have little prospect of taking more than unskilled jobs. With their unique, explosive energy, the Star Boys bring an unheard voice to the stage and examine our society in a rigorous way. In this politically charged performance, they turn the tables and take a confident, uncensored and provocative look at a possible future.

Australian theatre director Ahilan Ratnamohan enjoys using non-traditional methods such as football and language learning processes in the development of his plays. He works almost exclusively with people without classical acting training. After completing a film degree at the University of Technology in Sydney in 2005, he initially embarked on a career as a professional footballer in the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany. In 2007, he turned to the stage and has since been creating live performance pieces with socio-political focus. Since 2013 he has been working in Europe, mainly at the Monty Kultuurfaktorij in Antwerp. His world premiere “Michael Essien, I want to play as you” led to the formation of The Star Boy Collective, a twelve-member performance group of former footballers from West Africa.

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The press says:

“In ‘Reverse Colonialism!” theatre director Ahilan Ratnamohan confronts us in a rare and combative way with our relationship to Africa and African migrants. A relationship that is burdened by our colonial past and present and of which we are unfortunately rarely aware.” (Theaterkrant)

“An evening with some rhetorical finesse that raises exactly the right questions regarding migration and integration.” (Hamburger Abendblatt)

A production by Michael Turinsky / Verein für philosophische Praxis in co-production with Tanzquartier Wien and HAU Hebbel am Ufer, supported by the City of Vienna and the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport. The asphalt guest performance is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of NRW as part of the #open_up project.

 

with Ahilan Ratnamohan, Etuwe Bright Junior, Aloys Kwaakum, Lateef Babatunde
Director: Ahilan Ratnamohan
Media Artist: Frederick Rodrigues
Dramaturgy: Kristof Persyn
Lighting: Hanne Dick
Production: A Cultured Left Foot VZW, Monty Kultuurfaktorij

aculturedleftfoot.com

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