Vor die Hunde (UA)

In the organizer's words:

500 years ago, Hans Staden, a North Hessian farmhand, traveled to the coast of Brazil and wrote the first German-language book about South America: from today's perspective, a lurid description of encounters with the indigenous population, which had a decisive influence on the European image of Brazil. Almost forgotten in his homeland, he is still a well-known figure in Brazil today.

Kassel-born author Nora Mansmann uses this historical figure as the starting point for a multi-layered story about colonialism, racism and the intertwining of European and South American history - from then until today. At the center of the commissioned work for the Staatstheater Kassel is not only Hans Staden, but above all a German-Brazilian couple. Their love story begins full of euphoria, but conflicts soon emerge that are more deeply rooted than they seem. The dividing lines that run between former colonial powers and their colonies are reflected in their different perspectives on the world.

This journey to Brazil becomes a confrontation with ghosts of the past and present: voices from colonial history interfere, talking dogs and ghosts contradict each other.

vor die hunde (UA) is a poetic and associative text score that traces historical lines of continuity and current connections between German Reich citizens and Brazilian neo-Nazis. The impending apocalypse, which becomes palpable as a constant crisis in the realities of the characters' lives, lends the story an urgent intensity. Will the couple find a way out together? And what's with all these dogs?

vor die hunde (premiere) is the first work for the Staatstheater Kassel by author and theater maker Nora Mansmann. Other works have already been seen at Theater Osnabrück, Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin and Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus. After Die Troerinnen: 2nd Season (UA) and Milch & Schuld (UA), director Sarah Franke returns to the Staatstheater Kassel.