How to defend the Uncertain

fringe ensemble (Bonn) with the Latvijas Kultūras Akadēmija (Riga)

HOW TO DEFEND THE UNCERTAIN is an international co-production between the fringe ensemble (Bonn) and Latvijas Kultūras Akadēmija (Riga). The starting point is a quote from the artist William Kentridge: “Art must defend the uncertain.” Kentridge recognizes uncertainty as a productive state, a motor of thought, a prerequisite for change.

What is there to defend when there is no clear idea of what lies ahead? This question particularly concerns young people, the supposed heirs of an “old continent” that is losing global influence. The project takes the experiential spaces of young people in Latvia and Germany as its starting point and explores ambivalences and uncertainties from their perspective.

The material is created in interviews with young adults in both countries, which are condensed into a multilingual performance during the rehearsal process with author Ivo Briedis, director Frank Heuel and the binational ensemble.

The stage space is conceived as a studio: open, provisional, inhabited by traces of work. The audience does not enter a result, but a process – and becomes a witness to the struggle. Uncertainty is not the problem to be solved. It is the aggregate state in which thinking becomes possible.

Premiere
22.01.2027
Theater im Ballsaal, Bonn

Dates
23.01.2027
24.01.2027
Theater im Ballsaal, Bonn

End of January 2027
Riga, Latvia

By and with: Anne Sophie Heerdt, Hannes Kainz, Giulia Lenzi, Anna Tabea Stockbrügger, Gundars Abolin, N.N.
Director: Frank Heuel
Author: Ivo Briedis
Stage, costumes, video: Annika Ley
Set assistant: Helena Briede
Dramaturgy, assistant director: Lutz Ackermann, Luize Miga
Production management: Svenja Pauka, Kristine Freiberga
Dramaturgy, public relations: Claudia Grönemeyer

Gefördert durch: Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaften des Landes NRW und des NRW Landesbüro Freie Darstellende Künste.