VOLXOMMER Theatre Festival Saalfelden Leogang

1) ‘The Elephant Man’
After Bernard Pomerance
Circus tent Leogang

31 July, 1/8/15 August 2020, each at 8 pm

 

Content:

In 1884, the physician Dr Frederick Treves discovers the grotesquely disfigured John Merrick at a London fair, who has been given the nickname ‘the Elephant Man’ by a cruel fate. Partly out of pity, partly out of scientific curiosity, Treves takes the terminally ill man into his clinic. But this merely changes the stage for Merrick: from now on, his life is played out in the glare of the public eye instead of the fairground stalls. But behind the supposedly compassionate attention for him is ultimately just the same sensationalism that Merrick once had to endure at the fair.
 
‘The Elephant Man’ is the story of an outsider through whose eyes we look into a mirror in which we ultimately recognise ourselves.
 
Joseph Carey Merrick (1862-1890) went down in the annals of the Victorian era as the ‘Elephant Man’. ‘Freaks’ like Merrick were among the most popular attractions at the kingdom's fairs in a sensationalist society that sought - and still seeks - its ideal image of beauty and harmony in disgust at the Other.

For more than 20 years, we have been balancing on the fine line between inclusion and ‘showing off’ those involved to satisfy the pure voyeurism of the audience in our attempts to involve people with a wide range of disabilities in professional theatre work. Hardly any other theatre material addresses this tightrope walk as clearly as ‘The Elephant Man’ by Bernard Pomerance. We embark on this tightrope walk self-critically and without safety. Freak show included.
 

 

• With: Anna Adensamer, Salim Chreiki, Gerard Es, Kunigunde Eschbacher, Gerhard Fagerer, Reinhold Gerl, Florian Heis, Kristin Henkel, Josef Kocher, Anna Loch, Alexander Lughofer, Pamina Milewska, Vinko Najdek
• Live music: Ripoff Raskolnikov
• Costume: Viktoria Semperboni
• Stage: Alois Ellmauer
• Choreography: Anna Adensamer
• Production: Reinhold Tritscher
• Legal representation: LITAG Theaterverlag Munich

 

2) ‘Icarus’ - The dream of flying and crashing ... and of being caught
Circus tent Leogang

2/15 August 2020, 5 pm each day
Family play from 2019 for everyone aged 5-99 years

 

Content:
A story about a father and son, about going astray and coming together, about hopelessness and liberation, about overconfidence and ‘falling flat on your face’, the dream of flying and crashing... and being caught.

The story of Daedalus and Icarus is brought to the stage in a playful way with lots of acrobatics and the famous musician Robert Kainar.

• Acting and acrobatics: Pamina Milewska, Stefan Ried
• Live music: Robert Kainar
• Acrobatics training and choreography: Ulfried Kirschhofer
• Costumes: Lili Brit Pfeiffer
• Stage: Alois Ellmauer
• Production: Reinhold Tritscher

 

3) ‘Fat Pig’ by Neil LaBute
Kunsthaus Nexus Saalfelden

6/7/13/14 August 2020, each at 8 pm

 

Content: 

Helen is almost Tom's dream woman: intelligent, quick-witted, charming - but very fat. So he prefers not to introduce her to his colleagues. With good reason, because as soon as his friend Carter sees a picture of Helen, he forwards it to the whole company by email. And Tom's ex-girlfriend Jenny becomes hysterical when she finds out that Tom is going out with this ‘fat pig’. 
Helen's weight is not the problem - she has long since come to terms with her fullness. Tom, on the other hand, is increasingly unsettled by the pressure to conform and social control. 

An astute analysis of a society in which even love is subject to the rules of marketability and the choice of partner has an impact on one's own market value. 

• Acting: Bina Blumencron, Kristin Henkel, Wolfgang Kandler, Alexander Lughofer
• Costumes: Lili Brit Pfeiffer
• Stage: Hannes Öhlböck
• Production: Ben Pascal
• Performance rights: Rowohlt Theatre Publishers

 

4) ‘Schnalzen’ - guest performance by kollektiv kollinski
Circus tent Leogang
9 August 2020, 8 pm

 

Content:

Having worked hard all his life, a farmer finds ‘something strange’ in his field: ‘What is it? What is it doing? Clean it off, says one, pick it up, says the other, but I won't grab it!’

 

Snapping is archaic, snapping goes through the marrow and bone, snapping is supersonic. SCHNALZEN is a performative parable about the myth of the unknown. The collective KOLLINSKI brings together (puppet) theatre, (folk) culture, (live) snapping and (electronic) music and constructs ‘the unknown’ together with the snapping group from Maria Alm.

• Director and play development: Simon Windisch
• Idea, performance and play development: Susanne Lipinski
• Puppet construction, puppetry and play development: Bethi Nock
• Music (live and composition): Gudrun Plaichinger
• Snapping, stomping and making music: Lukas Schnaitl and Martin Hofer (Schnalzergruppe Maria Alm under the direction of Alois Gruber)
• Puppet coach: Manuela Linshalm

SCHNALZEN was created as a co-event with ARGEkultur and was co-financed by the city, state (Salzburg) and federal government.

‘SCHNALZEN is fuelled by contrasts. No stone is left unturned here. Homeland and foreignness are deconstructed with folk culture and the contemporary, with puppetry and the sounds of snails. Broken down into its individual parts, it is up to each viewer to create a new image of the foreign. Indeed, the time seems favourable. If not after an evening like this, then when?’ (Veronika Zangl, culture blog ‘what i saw from the cheap seats’)

 

 

5) Inclusive workshop week for children, growing children and adults
10-14 August 2020, 9 am - 4 pm each day

 
As part of the VOLXOMMER festival, an inclusive workshop week for children, growing adults and adults will take place again this year.

From 10-14 August, participants can look forward to a wide range of workshops in the fields of drama, music, photography, video art, LandArt, visual arts, acrobatics, dance and a printing workshop under the title ‘Palace of Wonders’.

The workshops start at 9 a.m. and can be booked until 4 p.m., including lunch and supervision. It is also possible to book only the morning and/or afternoon workshops. The number of participants per workshop is limited to a maximum of 12 people. 

Due to the Covid-19 regulations, the workshops take place decentralised in Saalfelden, Lofer, Leogang and Maishofen. The results will then be presented on a smaller scale in the respective locations. 

 

The ‘WÜDWUX’ project, funded by the LEADER Salaachtal region, aims to make artistic employment as accessible as possible for all social groups. The workshops are equally suitable for people with and without disabilities and are led by members of the ecce theatre ensemble. No prior knowledge is required. Naturally, we ensure that all necessary safety measures are carefully observed. 

 

We would like to thank our funding bodies, partners and sponsors for their support!

• Sponsors: City of Salzburg, Province of Salzburg, bka Kunst, Municipality of Saalfelden, Leader Region Saalachtal
• Sponsors: Salzburger Sparkasse, Trumer Privatbrauerei, Leoganger Bergbahnen, Kulturverein Freiraum
• Partners: Saalfelden Leogang Touristik GmbH, Kulturverein Freiraum Leogang, Museum Schloss Ritzen Saalfelden, Gemeinde Leogang, Kunsthaus Nexus Saalfelden, Lebenshilfe Salzburg, Laube sozialpsychiatrische Aktivitäten GmbH, SZENE Salzburg, ARGEkultur Salzburg, OVAL - Die Bühne im EUROPARK, Hunger auf Kunst und Kultur

 

SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE!
Status 9.6.2020