At the heart of this multi-lingual theatrical collage that deals with post-colonial power relations, remembrance politics, and identity, is a trio of characters whose perspectives could not be more different: Stevan, a Serbian photographer with a mysterious “camera absurda”; Pete, an ambitious middle-class Kenyan; and Kathi, a German heiress in possession of a serious post-colonial guilt complex. All three wish to wield the camera in service of their own individual purpose – and as a result find themselves wrestling with the nature of interpretative sovereignty as it pertains to both past and future. But the camera then begins to take on a life of its own …

Drawing on their own individual cultural and social contexts, Denijen Pauljević, Gisemba Ursula, and Theresa Seraphin have created a multi-layered grotesquerie, a performance that lays bare each participant’s own entanglement within global power structures. In this work, documentary material meets absurdist theatre, and historical re-enactments meet speculative visions of the future. Elements that initially seem obvious prove to be part of a complex interweaving of identities, role models, and attributions. Who does history belong to – and who will enact the future?

Text, direction & performance: Denijen Pauljević, Theresa Seraphin, Gisemba Ursula
Outside Eyes: Rinus Silzle, Mugambi Nthiga
Creative Producer: Rat & Tat Kulturbüro, Fedari Oyagi
Diversity Coach: Manina Ott, Mumbua Musembi
Acting Coach: Jelena Kuljić

Maja Gugleta Nebe

Premiere:
26th September 2025, Goethe Institut Nairobi + 31st October 2025, PATHOS theater München

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