Join us for a captivating evening of theatre as we present a special stage reading of “The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner" by Mudar Alhaggi at Kulturhaus Spandau. Against the backdrop of historical landmarks, this speculative autofictional play masterfully weaves together Syrian and German histories, exploring concepts of justice, exile, political memory, and hope. After the reading, you can engage in a discussion, as we delve into the thought-provoking themes of the play.
Context of the play and the reading event:
"The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner" is the latest play by Syrian playwright Mudar Alhaggi. In Berlin, Alhaggi discovers the story of Alois Brunner - the much wanted Nazi criminal, twice convicted and dozens of times pronounced dead, who was responsible for the deportation of over 100,000 Jews. After World War 2, Alois Brunner went into hiding in Damascus, where he was instrumental in building Syria's intelligence services, until he finally died sometime between 2001 and 2010 without ever being held accountable for his crimes.
Alhaggi's text is a speculative search about Brunner, about justice and responsibility, and it makes a connection visible: While Alhaggi lives in Germany today, having fled from a regime that Brunner helped to build, the latter was able to be unmolested where Alhaggi would actually have wanted to live: In Syria. Spandau as the place of the reading adds another layer, because Alhaggi now lives only a few minutes' walk from the place where Brunner would have had to spend the last decades of his life: the former Spandau war crimes prison.
'The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner' is produced by : Collective Ma’louba in co-produktion withTheater an der Ruhr, gefördert durch das Ministerium für Kunst und Wissenschaft des Landes NRW + euro-scene Leipzig . It premieres on 11 & 12 November at euro-scene in Leipzig. The writing has been supported by Neustart Kultur / Fonds Darstellende Künste (Rechercheförderung), 1927 Art Space + Berlin Mondiale
Public Transport: Subway: U7, subway station Rathaus Spandau. S-Bahn/RE: Station Berlin Spandau, S3, S9, RE2, RE4, RE6, RE8. Bus: Stop Rathaus Spandau, line 130, 134, 135, 136, 137
Languages: Arabic and German