THE GHOSTS ARE RETURNING
GROUP50:50 (Basel | Berlin | Kinshasa | Lubumbashi)
Schedule
A Swiss physician stole seven skeletons from the northern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1953, subsequently and in the name of science turning them over to the Geneva university, where they have been stored since then. On the occasion of this concrete case, transnational collective GROUP50:50 starts con-templating the question for the restitution of expropriated colonial-era ancestral remains. They traveled to the city of Wamba to talk to a community of Mbuti people, from whom the remains originated, about their loss. What is needed to reinstate humanity to the expropriated bodies, a humanity that was refuted them during colonial times?
In this music theatre piece the Congolese, German, and Swiss performers narrate the tale of criminal colonial transgression in the name of racist science as well as of possible processes of mourning and healing. Various traditions of lament dirges are touched upon: Excerpts from Fauré’s requiem, a lament by Ligeti, traditional Congolese dirges, as well as ancient polyphonous Mbuti chants will be played and per-formed. A genre-crossing funeral ceremony that demands the deceased’s return to their homeland.
Biography
Christiana Tabaro (Artistic Management, Direction, Text & Performance)
The actor and director lives and works in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo). She studied at the Institut National des Arts in Kinshasa and, together with Michael Disanka, is a co-founder of Collectif d’Art-d’Art. She has been part of GROUP50:50 since 2021.
Eva-Maria Bertschy (Artistic Management, Direction, Text & Discourse)
Eva-Maria Bertschy works as a freelance dramaturge, curator, and author at the intersections of theatre and political activism in Germany, Belgium, Italy, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She is the artistic director at Studio Rizoma, a production structure for transnational political and artistic projects in Palermo. Her projects won her numerous awards. She founded GROUP50:50 with Elia Rediger, Dorine Mokha and Patrick Mudekereza in 2020.
Michael Disanka (Artistic Management, Direction & Text)
Michael Disanka is an actor, director, and author. Following his studies at the Institut National des Arts in Kinshasa, he established Collectif D’Art-d’Art together with Christiana Tabaro. He has been working on his own texts for several years now, such as DISEURS DE TEXTES, a performance reading project. Dieudonné Niangouna staged his works 31. MAI 2012 and LA POUPOUPÈTE in 2012. He became a GROUP50:50 member in 2021.
Elia Rediger (Artistic Management, Direction & Musical Direction)
Elia Rediger, born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in 1985, is a Swiss artist, composer, playwright, and singer. His production HERKULES VON LUBUMBASHI – EIN MINENORATORIUM (HERCULES OF LUBUMBASHI – A MINING ORATORIO) was conceived in collaboration with Congolese choreographer Dorine Mokha (✝) and PODIUM Esslingen (2019). Together with Mokha, curator Patrick Mudekereza, and Swiss dramaturge Eva-Maria Bertschy, he subsequently created GROUP50:50 in 2020.
Kojack Kossakamvwe (Composition & Musical Direction)
The musician collaborates with various artists in a multitude of projects, be that for album recordings or concerts – such as with Amine AUB (2013) – or as musical director with Papa Wemba for LA PASSION DU MAÎTRE (2015). In 2019 and 2020, he was part of the HERKULES VON LUBUMBASHI – EIN MINENORATORIUM ensemble (PODIUM Esslingen).
Patrick Mudekereza (Text & Discourse)
Patrick Mudekereza is a writer and curator. He is the founder and artistic director of the Centre d’art Waza, a unique and independent arts centre in Lubumbashi (Democratic Republic of the Congo). He received the national Congolese Arts and Culture Award in 2016, and the Art Lettre et Sciences medal in 2017. He teaches at the universities of Lubumbashi and Witwatersrand.
Dorine Mokha (✝) (Founding member)
Dorine Mokha was born in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1989. He was a dancer, choreographer and author. Dorine Mokha passed away unexpectedly on January 8th, 2021, in his hometown of Lubumbashi.
Cast
Performance Ruth Kemna | Christiana Tabaro | Huguette Tolinga | Kojack Kossakamwve | Franck Moka | Merveil Mukadi | Elia Rediger In the Videos Josée Agbepa | Jean de Dieu Bongama | Jean-Baptiste Ekaka | Mama Sese | Mukombozi | Anselm Ngobe | Tristan Köster | William V. Murray | Per Hakon Oftedal | Josefine Schmidt | Maxine Troglauer Direction Christiana Tabaro | Eva-Maria Bertschy | Michael Disanka | Elia Rediger Composition & Musical Direction Kojack Kossakamvwe | Elia Rediger Text Christiana Tabaro | Eva-Maria Bertschy | Michael Disanka | Patrick Mudekereza | Ruth Kemna | Elia Rediger Dramaturgy Eva-Maria Bertschy | Patrick Mudekereza Stage & Decor Elia Rediger | Christiana Tabaro | Michael Disanka | Janine Werthmann Assistant Direction Luca Maier Technical Direction Sylvain Faye Video Moritz von Dungern | Joseph Kasau | Franck Moka | Elia Rediger Sound & Sound Design Philipp Ruoff Sound & Audio Engineering Daniel Freitag Conductor Stage Videos Beltrán González Research Support Abé Jean de Dieu Aybeka | Benjamin Imply Ababa | Julienne Nambinomutu Tatu | Jacques Anzakpangezo Translation & Subtitles Souzy Boukanayo | Julien Couturier | Julie Guigonis | Katia Flouest-Sell Production Management Pamina Rottok | Véronique Poverello
Info
On Sunday 29.10., after the performance, there will be a talk with the artists of GROUP50:50 in the Café of the Muffathalle at around 19:30. Afterwards, SPIELART YOUTH will talk with the artists.
Accessibility
Production & Realization
THE GHOSTS ARE RETURNING is a joint project by PODIUM Esslingen with GROUP50:50 and the Centre d’Art Waza Lubumbashi Co-production with the CTM Festival Berlin | euro-scene Leipzig | Kaserne Basel | the Vorarlberger Landestheater Supported by the TURN2 Fonds set up by the German Federal Cultural Foundation With funds granted by the Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media Additional support flows from the Fachausschuss Tanz & Theater BS/BL | Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia
Supported by the NATIONALES PERFORMANCE NETZ Guest Performance Fund for Theatre with funds granted by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, as well as the Department of Culture and Arts of the Federal States Supported by Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia
