THE BODY MEMORY
Performance on 16-18 November 2020 in Leipzig
LOFFT-DAS THEATER 56 Min. LANGUAGE Germany / Chinese Concept / Music Composition / Stage Design: Hang Su Text: Daniel Schmidt, Hang Su Costume: Hannah Josephine Gebhardt QIN Hang Su VOCAL Ludwig Obst DANCE Tizo All CLARINET Richard Haynes PERCUSSION Sabrina Ma TRUMPET Paul Hübner
We created scenes according to the story of rabbit god to our music theatre project “the body memory”. It dedicates to 2 beloved homosexual artists in the time of AIDS epidemic in 1990’s — Jürgen Baldiga, a freelance photographer; Ronald Schernikau, an Author.
A journey of memory between China and West Berlin in music, images and movement. The legend of Hu Tianbao hits the Berlin of the time of reunification. Executed because he loved men, he is transferred to the body of a rabbit in the Chinese underworld and elevated to the deity of homosexuals. The focus is on two men who worked on different sides of the Berlin Wall. Jürgen Baldiga was the photographer of West Berlin’s queer subculture. However, the author Ronald M. Schernikau was one of the last to emigrate to the GDR. Both died from the consequences of their HIV infection. In the appropriation of the Chinese-German composer Hang Su, Baldiga’s graphic sketches are transformed into graphic scores. Not only the sound, but also the body movement of the performing musicians are inscribed in them.
A production by Hang Su + MAM.manufaktur für aktuelle musik in cooperation with Werkstattmacher e.V. and LOFFT - DAS THEATER. Supported by the culture office of city Leipzig. Supported by the Initiative Neue Musik Berlin e. V. and the Musikfonds e. V. with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media. With many thanks for the support to the Gay Museum Berlin, Aron Neubert, Thomas Keck and Ellen Schernikau.
