Project
Ruhrgebiet, Germany 2009
Six plays and a voyage of discovery through the interworld. Odysseus comes home and no longer recognises his native island of Ithaca. The theatres of the Ruhr have invited six European authors to retell Homer's famous epic poem. The individual episodes are linked to form a complete story, which is performed on five weekends. The audience undertakes a journey from theatre to theatre that forms its own odyssey through the world of light and shadow of a European metropolitan landscape. raumlaborberlin presents a surprising change of perspective. Where are we? In a landscape of memories or in the scenario of a near future?
Liverpool, United Kingdom 2009
Raumlabor approached this project with the questions: is reinventing the history of a place a good idea, when the current accepted history isn't helping the present situation? Finding, as in our case, no suitable point of departure/entry for a solution to apparent urbanistic problems, is it possible through the interweaving of truth, urban legend and invention to inspire regional pride in the inhabitants of a desolated residential area? And when this (hi)story is presented in a positive light, could it get the ball rolling? Is it possible by reinventing a history to create a new perspective for a site which has undergone a century of urban catastrophes?
