Figurentheater Ute Kahmann (DE)

A father who runs away is a familiar story. A father who overcomes national and system boundaries when running away is less common. A father who flees from the East to the West and refuses to admit his coming-out as a gay man to his daughter, who is left behind in the German Democratic Republic, is the subject of “queer papa queer”.

The play is a biographical research with objects, documents and puppets and at the same time a journey through time into the lives of homosexual and bisexual men in the German Democratic Republic and the no man’s land between the systems. A piece about fear, courage, joie de vivre and repression and a journey about one’s own insecurities.

“Above all, sensually strong scenes were developed from the lives of father and daughter, which Ute Kahmann as a player realizes in fascinating versatility. At her side is the brilliant Felix Kroll, who translates into music what can hardly be said in words. Stage designer Stephan Rätsch has set powerful picture frames against the abundance of material, so that the play with puppets appears as if through a magnifying glass. A production that tells of brokenness, courage to face life and the struggle for acceptance.” (ZITTY Berlin)