INVISIBLE GAME

(K)eine Grenze

with English Surtitles

Note: The play deals with border violence on the basis of documentary material.

INVISIBLE GAME deals with illegal push-backs in the border regions of Europe. The play draws on material from concrete, unpublished and already publicized cases. In collaboration with investigative journalists and on the basis of documented cases, a theater evening is created that reflects the current fundamental conflict of borders in a colonized world and tells of the dissolution of boundaries of the human body.

Two students from Nigeria have traveled to Croatia for a table tennis tournament. A few days later, they find themselves in a refugee camp in Bosnia. What happened? They were kidnapped by the police in Europe. Only a short time later, a crisis team meets at the Ministry of the Interior to cover up the faux pas. Meanwhile, the police officers responsible are already busy with the next so-called "push-backs". A Bosnian family on the other side of the border is unintentionally involved. The EU and other member states are sending ambivalent messages. A web of post-colonial fears, economic interests, fascist structures, power struggles and, above all, a system of violence and oppression is unfolding.

What are pushbacks? - Click HERE for the definition.
Journal - Click HERE for the interview with David Stöhr (director).
Podcast - Click HERE for the interview with Matija Vlatković (dramaturge).

ENGLISH Version

INVISIBLE GAME deals with illegal push-backs occurring in Europe's border regions. The play is based on the material of real and documented, unpublished as well as already published, cases. In collaboration with investigative journalists, a theatre evening is created which reflects the current fundamental conflict of borders in a colonized world and tells of the dissolution of the boundaries of the human body.

Two students from Nigeria have traveled to Croatia for a table tennis tournament. A few days later they find themselves in a camp for refugees in Bosnia. What happened? They were kidnapped by police forces in Europe. Shortly after that, an emergency cabinet meeting of the Ministry of the Interior takes place in order to cover up the faux pas. Meanwhile, the police officers in charge are already busy with the next so-called "push-backs". A Bosnian family on the other side of the border is inadvertently dragged into it all. The EU and other member states are sending ambivalent messages. A web is spun of post-colonial fears, economic interests, proto-fascist structures, power struggles, and above all a system of violence and oppression.

The theater shows will be followed by panel discussions with experts. These mainly include affected persons, but also journalists, human rights NGOs and people showing solidarity. The panels serve as a multilateral exchange.

For the definition of pushbacks follow this link.