Theaterpreis des Bundes 2019
boat people project
Jury statement
“Since 2009, the boat people project has been working on a new form of political theater. It has implemented what is repeatedly demanded in many debates about the theater, but rarely dared: A collective of people from different backgrounds running the theater. It conceives its own productions and collaborations with ensembles and institutions at home and abroad. The variety of formats ranges from musical theater and solo opera performances to games. With great seriousness and a pleasurable lightness of touch, the boat people project finds a way of dealing with contemporary phenomena as well as traditional materials and motifs; in a way that does justice to the complex 21st century – both structurally and aesthetically. This genuinely transcultural work functions in Göttingen through a variety of links with the city environment, including its own mediation channel. Ambivalences are permitted and demanded here, the democratic culture of debate is sharpened by the acumen of art, diversity is normality – on, in front of and behind the stage.” – Jury statement