A co-production between the Theater an der Ruhr and the Collective Ma'louba.

A young woman living in a small city disappears. No trace of her remains, as if she never existed. No one asks about her. The only person who knew her was a young man who had been in a relationship with her before her disappearance. The play recounts the last days of the young woman before the incident. The play accuses the young man, interrogates him, and tries to extract information from him by force. The play is certain the young man is involved in the woman's disappearance but fails to convict him. Nonetheless, it punishes him, fully aware that this is pure violence.

In this play, the absence of political efficacy threatens entire communities and drives them to seek individual salvation either by integrating into the system or stepping outside of it. In both cases, the individuals from these communities are left alone, facing the explicit threat of disappearance. Disappearance becomes an invisible, inaudible space filled with victims, criminals, and, of course, violence.

The theatre maker initially sought to create a play defending the right of individuals to lose hope. But he later realized that this defense was essentially a defense of the right of those who have lost hope to exercise violence—either against others or themselves. And the violence of the hopeless is merely a desperate expression of their right to change the world.

Amid the whirlwind of panic attacks, antidepressants, drugs, therapy sessions, and poverty, there is a brave heart still beating. Through calm and silence, the play tries to locate it, listen to its voice, and turn that voice into words. But will it succeed?

In Arabic with german surtitles.

Co-production of Theater an der Ruhr, Le Quartz - Scène Nationale de Brest; Théâtre de Choisy-le-Roi, Linguistic Diversity Programme. Supported by the Ministry of Art and Science of the State of NRW.

With the support of: Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC); Departmental Council of Boûches du Rhône - Departmental Centre for Creation in Residence Domaine de l'Etang des Aulnes; Ettijahat - Zad: Miles for Connections read less