Interrogation of the World

The motto “Interrogation of the World” by the German Forum for Puppet Theatre and the Art of Puppetry (FIDENA) can be interpreted as a response to the seismic reverberations of the global pandemic. There has arguably never been such a need to differentiate between facts and fake news, and between reality and fiction as there is today. The boundary separating fact and fiction has become seemingly fluid in the face of persistent uncertainties, constantly shifting guidance, changes to new rules and new scientific findings. The trend toward rejecting science-based action and embracing fake narratives is promoting divisiveness in societies and making it harder and more complicated for individuals to gain orientation. Puppet theatre can address these topics in its own special way, develop poetic, fairy tale-like, and occasionally dystopian stories, and so doing, pose questions and probe the boundaries between fact and fiction. Numerous internationally renowned artists have been invited to participate in this edition of the biennale and present their current productions at 12 venues in Bochum, Hattingen, Herne and Recklinghausen. The Canadian marionettist Ronny Burkett will present an immersive production entitled “Forget me not” in which he envisions a world where the written word no longer exists. The Belgian Miet Warlop will present her piece “After All Springville” which she developed during the lockdown. “Shell Game – Lost in Paranoialand” by the Bochum performance collective Anna Kpok offers an immersive experience that explores human fear. A central performer in the piece is an extra-terrestrial landscape resembling the set of a sci-fi B movie.

An accompanying event entitled “Performing Paranoia, Fake and Facts” is also planned in collaboration with the Recherche-Zentrum CORRECTIV, the Institute for Theatre Studies and German Studies of the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) and the FidenaForschungsZentrum.

Artistic director: Annette Dabs
Artists: Ronnie Burkett, Cie Chaliwaté, Cie Focus, Cie S‘Appelle Reviens, Familie Flöz, Nikolaus Habjan, Anna Kpok, Neville Tranter, Dries Verhoeven, Miet Warlop

Festival Bochum, Hattingen, Herne, Recklinghausen: 7–18 May 2022