Through the Eyes of Others

Both Mannheim and Alexandria are urban centres outside of large metropolitan areas and both are strongly influenced by people of many different cultures. Yet at the artistic level, the cities have had little contact with one another. This cooperative project between Schnawwl, the children and youth theatre in Mannheim, and the Teatro Alexandria aimed to change this and strengthen artistic exchange especially in the area of children’s theatre.
The project featured a co-production of two story-telling performances. The Egyptian production was based on the German legend of William Tell, while the performance in Mannheim presented the Arab fairy tale “The Story of the King, Hamed bin Bathara, and of the Fearless Girl”. The conditionality of freedom and equality, and of mercy and justice, are the central themes in both productions. The performances, open to children ages 9 and older, explored these issues on the basis of these real tales from the partner countries.
“The Story of the King, Hamed bin Bathara, and of the Fearless Girl” and “Ein erster Schritt” (A First Step) have been presented at Schnawwl in Mannheim and at the Backstreet Festival in Alexandria – an international forum for artists from Europe and the Mediterranean region. The stories have also been published as a bilingual children’s book. Mahmoud Hassanein had been commissioned to complete the translation, and Mehrdad Zaeri, the illustrations.

Artistic director: Andrea Gronemeyer
Participating theatres and artists: Drift Theater Company (CH), Al-Harrah-Palästina theatre company (PS), Mahmoud Aboudoma (EG), Andrea Gronemeyer, Amina Abodoma (EG), Anne Richter, Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Kader (EG), Mohamed El Hagrasy (EG), Ayman Massond (EG), Mahmoud Hassanein (EG/D), Christian Thurm, Peter Hinz (I), Uwe Topmann, Cédric Pintarelli (CH), Mehrdad Zaeri.

Performances in Alexandria (23 – 29 Sep. 2012) and Mannheim (June 2013)