Cities on the Edge, three shows in Naples, Marseille and Herne for a project of international artistic cooperation

A project conceived by the Goethe-Institut of Naples and Marseille to bring together the artistic realities of Italy, France and Germany. The press conference in Naples, at the Nuovo Teatro Sanità.

Cities on the Edge , an international artistic cooperation project conceived by the Goethe-Institut of Naples and Marseille, involving ten entities operating in the fields of theatre, dance and music , which carry out their activities in areas defined as marginal or disadvantaged in Italy, France and Germany , was presented at a press conference yesterday, Tuesday 16 January 2018 at the Nuovo Teatro Sanità in Naples.

This is a fascinating project with an international and multicultural scope that aims to bring together local realities that are similar in terms of social context and artistic and cultural thrust, but distant only geographically: Naples, Marseille and the area between Bochum and Herne , in the Ruhr region of Germany.

Among the ten realities of the project are the Nuovo Teatro Sanità in Naples , La Friche la Belle de Mai , an urban space for social and artistic inclusion, born in 1992 from a former tobacco factory, where the exchange of ideas and knowledge is possible in any field, through any artistic expression and between all generations; and pottfiction , a theatre project for young people in the Ruhr region , made up of six permanent and independent theatres (Consol Theater Gelsenkirchen, Helios Theater Hamm, Kinder und Jugendtheater Dortmund, Junges Schauspielhaus Bochum, Theaterhagen, Theater-kohlenpott Herne).

Cities on the Edge aims to create an international European network of artists , promoting training and creative and multidisciplinary exchange through music, theatre and dance workshops, as well as conferences and seminars on the theme of cultural work.

Cities on the Edge is aimed at the trinational production of three shows that will be staged in the second part of 2018 in Marseille, Herne (in the Ruhr) and Naples.

The first stop of Cities on the Edge in Naples, at the Nuovo Teatro Sanità

The press conference took place at the end of two days of meetings between the Italian partners (Nuovo Teatro Sanità, the Dedalus Social Cooperative with Officine Gomitoli, and the Alessandro Scarlatti Musical Association), the French partners (Centro culturale-sociale Friche la Belle de Mai and the Festival de Marseille), and the German partners (pottfiction, a network of five youth theaters located in the Ruhr region), hosted by Mario Gelardi's Nuovo Teatro Sanità.

Naples was the first stop on this exciting cultural and theatrical project, which will arrive in Marseille in June 2018 , where the French partners' show will debut as part of the renowned Festival de Marseille . The third stop on Cities on the Edge will take place in Herne in the second half of August, when the German partners will debut, along with the trinational production, curated by Mario Gelardi, based on a text by Philippe Löhle. The show will then debut in Naples in autumn 2018.

Cities on the Edge: the three shows on stage in Naples, Marseille and Herne

During the press conference, the partners discussed the themes that will be central to the three theatrical productions to be staged at the end of the project: work and utopia . The three performances will each last approximately 45 minutes and be structured as "chapters."

The French-produced show , which will debut in June 2018 as part of the Festival de Marseille, will focus on the theme of work and will draw on the experiences of around 20 young people in dance workshops organised by Ben Fury, a choreographer who combines breakdance and contemporary dance, as part of the La Friche la Belle de Mai circuit. It will also include workshops on the use of video in the performing arts with director Antje Ehmann and music with German DJ of Turkish origins Ipek Ipekcioglu.

The show, a German production from the Ruhr area between Bochum and Herne , will be directed by Manuel Moser, who will develop the text based on the inspiration and input of the young artists who will create scenes, texts, and pantomimes on the theme "Utopias – Dystopias ." Supervision and dramaturgy are by Frank Hörner (Kohlenpott Theater, Herne). This group of artists includes both German and international young people from diverse cultures. Therefore, many languages ​​will be used, including German, but also English, Kurdish, Turkish, Farsi, and Arabic.

The Italian production will be the result of a unique collaboration between Philipp Löhle , German playwright associated with the Maxim Gorky Theater in Berlin, and the Nuovo Teatro Sanità . Philipp Löhle's new play, written specifically for the Nuovo Teatro Sanità , will focus on the themes of work and utopia . Through visits to Naples and interviews with young actors from this theater, the German playwright has captured the image of a city characterized by problems and complexities diametrically opposed to those of the German-speaking world.

Cities on the Edge, a new model of European cultural production

Cities on the Edge represents a breakthrough in the world of theatrical production and artistic exchange between different countries. Its goal is to build a model that can be exported to other European cities that are geographically distant but similar in terms of social context, marginalization and hardship, and shared artistic and cultural momentum.

As Joachim Umlauf , director of the Goethe-Institut of Marseille and Lyon, stated : " Cities on the Edge is an interesting project because it allows us to pursue new paths in cultural promotion, in a broader European context. Attention to the needs of local partners, the creation of high-quality artistic productions, social commitment, networking between European institutions and bodies, training and the creation of specific knowledge, are the main elements of this ambitious project ." With a view to an increasingly Europeanized future society, in which today's young people will find themselves acting and interacting.

Photo credits: Vincenzo Antonucci