The White Chamber

The Chinese city of Qingdao (German: Tsingtau) was established as a German colonial trading post in 1898 and is still known today for its German architecture and German-style beer production. The University of Paderborn, for its part, has a department comprised exclusively of students from Qingdao who have established a vibrant exchange between both cities. This theatre partnership builds on these historic and contemporary ties.
The theme of the joint production is based on a true story which will be adapted as a play in fairy-tale form with a German-Chinese ensemble and performed at both theatres. The German dramatist Andreas Sauter will write a play which tells the story of a European boy who spent his early childhood in China and who returns as a 70-year-old man to bring back a stolen souvenir – the "Dragon’s Tooth". The goal is to explore the stylistic differences of theatre in both countries and become familiar with how Chinese and Germans view their home and foreign countries in workshops, a personnel exchange and an accompanying programme.

Theatres: Westfälische Kammerspiele, Paderborn and Huajuyuan Theatre, Qingdao (China)

Artists / participants: Maya Fanke, Bai Lun (CN), Wolfgang Menardi, Li Peng (CN), Zhan Qiang (CN), Andreas Sauter, Maren Simoneit, Dr. Merula Steinhardt-Unseld and others

Schedule:
April 2010 – April 2012