Das Land, das ich liebe

“My Beloved Country” is a theatrical installation based on the documentary book by journalist Elena Kostyuchenko that has become a bestseller in several countries. The project aims not only to make the present state of Russia vividly comprehensible, but also to react to harrowing and indeed shameful questions that have recently grown in importance: how can one maintain a relationship with a homeland that is slipping into evil? How can one manage to accept people (to some extent at least) who are both victims of and accessories to this evil? Where does lawlessness stop and indifference begin? The consistent thread that holds the work together
is the author’s personal story – her experiences in a world with which many people would prefer not to be confronted. The production examines how reality is described and perceived. Autobiographical passages from the book – represented by a Russian- speaking actor – and documentary reports of people in Russia deprived of their rights and brought to silence – performed by Middle European actors – are interwoven with visual and sonic elements to form a multi-faceted, multi-layered narrative. The play is an attempt at translation – not only between languages, but also between cultures and from one context to another. Is it even possible to explain such a complex social and political reality on stage? We believe: yes.