Not only participating in this year’s Theatertreffen, but also taking part in it, therefore actively shaping it in a certain sense, certainly makes me look forward to these two warm weeks in May full of discourse, play, movement, body and critique – at the same time, though, my thoughts inevitably turn to critical reflection: thinking about the possibilities of access to the festival as well as about the conceptual framing of the festival programme includes questions of the performativity of this social structure. Who is represented here, how and by whom are they represented, and how and in what form can there be an exchange about what has been seen, what has been discussed, what has been missed, without reproducing supposed universalisms? Which bodies have access to the production of cultural knowledge, which to the houses, and why do so many still remain underrepresented? What does institutional exclusion look like on and off stage? And above all, how is it tried to be embellished by and through tokenisation? With Olena Apchel, Carolin Hochleichter and Joanna Nuckowska, a poly-perspective and polyglot female voice has established itself as a leading authority that wants to actively confront these questions. At least, this is how the festival’s discourse programme advertises itself, in which such a political endeavour to make marginalised positions visible is clearly reflected. I also understand the TT blog as such a place of genuine critique and am looking forward to play on it with impressions and in exchange with others. For what does it really mean to perceive privilege as loss?
