Fin de Mission / Ohne Auftrag Leben

In this performance, kainkollektiv and OTHNI, venture together on one of the biggest taboos of German-Cameroonian history: slavery.

The trade with the “human commodity” starts concurrently to the discovery of the globe and the first expeditions from the 15th century and it becomes the foundation of the wealth and progress in Europe and North America.

Europe creates the cultural, political and economic matrix of its own Modernity project, while slavery evolves simultaneously as a hidden, ghostly counter-history. Nonetheless, this counter-history is not only the flipside, but also the prerequisite for Europe’s advancement, wealth and (cultural) world dominance.

The encounter of very different music traditions creates a new soundscape that makes contact with the concrete and imaginary landscapes of European-African history: from lament songs to working and resistance chants to European opera repertoire. This is a musical theater performance that brings our unknown and repressed heritage from the depths of history until it explodes in our ears.

Concept and Direction: Fabian Lettow / Mirjam Schmuck (Kainkollektiv), Martin Ambara (Othni)

Cast: Pascal Merighi, Catherine Jodoin, David Guy Kono, Carsten Langer, Madeleine Pélagie Nga Alima, Rasmus Nordholt-Frieling, Kerstin Pohle, Nils Voges, Edith Voges Nana Tchuinag, Jean Calvin Yugye

Germany, Cameroon