I AM EUROPA

Strasbourg 2019 / TNS theater / 105 min

What does a family look like today? How important to us are notions of identity, origin, and homeland? How far are we defined by relationships, and by a sense of belonging? What communities do we belong to, and what kind of world do we want to live in?

I AM EUROPA is based on ensemble of actors, dancers, and performance artists from different European countries, all aged between 20 and 35 years old, all with complex stories of identity, family, and belonging, stretching far beyond national and cultural boundaries.

Some have family origins in former colonies of Western powers, giving them another perspective on Europe. The performances. Rehearsals started initially in French and English: gradually other languages have come in, and the performances will also include Croatian, Portuguese, Dutch and Arabic.

How has European history marked the lives of these young performers? In what kinds of families have they grown up? What do they think of the concept of family? How do they see themselves within a Europe threatened by fear and right-wing populism, and in democracies that are increasingly overrun by discourses of hatred and demagoguery? How do they imagine we will live together in the future?

Written and directed by Falk Richter
Choreography Nir de Volff
Dramaturgy Nils Haarmann
Set and Costume Design Katrin Hoffmann
Music Matthias Grübel
Video Aliocha Van der Avoort
Light Philippe Berthomé
Assistant Director Chrystèle Ortu

Production Théâtre National de Strasbourg Coproduction Odéon − Théâtre de l'Europe, Comédie de Genève, Thalia Theater − Hambourg, Noord Nederlands Toneel (NNT) − Groningen, HNK − Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, Théâtre de Liège et DC&J Créations, Dramaten − The Royal Dramatic Theatre of Sweden, Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione