DAS KRAFTWERK

STAATSTHEATER COTTBUS

2023

DIRECTOR | Aram Tafreshian

STAGE DESIGN | LIGHT | Mara Madeleine Pieler

COSTUME | Clarissa Freiberg

MUSIC | Tom Gatza

DRAMATURGY | Franziska Benack

PHOTOS | Bernd Schönauer |  Marlies Kross

A research piece by Calle Fuhr in cooperation with CORRECTIV

"Welcome to the interim!"

This research piece, created for Cottbus, tells a Cottbus story around five characters who face the opportunities and challenges of structural change differently.

After the death of her grandfather, the young journalist Carla returns to her hometown Cottbus. In her grandfather's house, she finds a folder labeled "KRAFTWERK - for Carla." Inside are stacks of documents with information about the LEAG company, about Vattenfall, the Jänschwalde power plant, the Baltic Sea and the Gigawattfactory. As Carla begins to look into it more closely, she meets completely different people: she encounters her grandfather's neighbor, a former activist whose home has already been dredged twice. Her son's friend is fighting for LEAG's green future. And his boss, in turn, is worried about security of supply in the event of a coal phase-out. A story unfolds about the coal industry and its future, which also tells of alternatives and utopias and of the chances and failures of joint talks.

Author Calle Fuhr's polyphonic and humorous play is based on research by the investigative-journalistic collective CORRECTIV, whose findings, for example on the state of the region's water supply, have already been published. In addition, they will accompany the production with ongoing research until the premiere day. The latest results will be published daily for the premiere of CORRECTIV and presented exclusively on the Cottbus stage.

Fuhr regularly works with journalistic collectives to develop current topics for the theater. Based on his conviction that storytelling influences the perception of our world, he finds in theater the place that can touch people, change perspectives and make understanding possible.