Theater Anu
Theater Anu stages poetic theater in public space. Walk-in installations and the theater of encounter are characteristic of the theater installations.
Theater Anu has been researching and staging poetic theater forms in public spaces since the 2000s. Founded in Heppenheim (Bergstrasse) , the company has had its headquarters in Berlin since 2007 . In collaboration with numerous artists , under the direction of Sybille Behr and Stefan Behr, she plays on parks, squares and special places - such as tunnels or industrial halls - in Germany and Europe. Every year around 100,000 visitors experience productions by Theater Anu. In addition to its own repertoire , Theater Anu stages individual and one-off productions .
style
Theater Anu stages poetic theater in the form of a theater of encounter:
Poetic theater
Poetic forms of theater - by this, the two theater makers understand the constant search for art forms of reconciliation between people and their world. There are encounters between actors and visitors in an unprotected theater space: the urban space. The reality is outside, it needs to be changed. In its theater installations, Theater Anu creates spaces for atmosphere and beauty, time and deceleration, encounters and sustainability. Since 2005 they have been working increasingly in the form of theater installations, they speak of “poetic worlds”, in which the visitor can immerse himself and linger there for several hours.
Theater of encounter
When entering the theater installations of Theater Anu, the viewer becomes a visitor and does not remain outside, but enters the action. An encounter between player and visitor can take place in the individual play stations at Theater Anu. Theater Anu creates offers of this encounter in the productions - from the look, to the smile, from the touch to the common game. There is no exclusivity, no closed rooms. Several thousand people can experience the theater installations each evening. They encounter the characters, decide for themselves about closeness and distance, get involved or watch others do it.
About telling stories
Theater Anu sees itself in the tradition of storytelling. They believe in the power of stories, but are also aware that other stories are needed: The American mythologist Joseph Campbell proves in his work that myths are based on the same pattern in all parts of the world: the hero's journey. These stories fulfill (s) an important purpose: To introduce people to society with its values and rules and, in particular, to prepare young people for life as a warrior. According to Stefan Behr, the vision of a peaceful world reveals the need for new patterns that differ from the message “Life is a struggle!”. For Theater Anu, a poetic dramaturgy must be established.
history
Theater Anu was founded in 1998 in Heppenheim by Stefan Behr, Tina Friedmann, Martin Kaschke, Harry Unger and Christoph Becker. Even if most of the founding members left the company soon, they still play in individual productions. In 1999, the stilt theater production Der Mond was a station theater based on a Grimm fairy tale motif. The second production Der Sonnenwagen - a shadow theater on building facades - was based on Ovid's Phaethon. The premiere of Lichtspuren (2005) was awarded the audience award at the 8th International Street Theater Festival in Holzminden . Sybille Behr, then still Sybille Kolbe, joined the company with the production The Great Journey (2007). The second theater installation after Lichtspuren was groundbreaking for the conceptual and dramaturgical signature of Theater Anu - the idea of the theater cosmos was born: the audience is invited to immerse themselves in the artfully created worlds and linger in them, they become visitors. The combination of installation and drama make the stagings diverse and multi-layered spaces of experience for them. In 2009, on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the theatrical installation Engel über Berlin will be created, which will be continued as a site-specific theater project under the title Engelland. Commissioned productions have taken Theater Anu to England, Spain and Switzerland, among others. In 2011 Come to MoraLand - a poetic theater fair and the third major theater installation - has its premiere. At the 2012 Alleyway Sensations, the park production Ovid's Dream - in the Garden of Changes, will be presented to the public for the first time, a collage based on the Roman poet's cycle of metamorphoses.
Artistic Director
Stefan Behr founded the Anu Theater in 1998, studied theater education in Bavaria, learned directing from the Peruvian director Mario Delgado and completed a year of study at the Michael Chekhov Studio Berlin . Since 1993 he has been the artistic director of the Gassensensationen international street theater festival in Heppenheim. As a director he has realized more than 30 theater projects in public space and is a member of the board of the Federal Association for Theater in Public Space
Sybille Behr studied literature and media studies in Mannheim and Berlin. During her studies she took acting lessons and worked on her first own projects. She played at the Nibelungen Festival in Worms (directed by Dieter Wedel ) and assisted at the Schaubühne Berlin and the Berlin Theatertreffen. Since 2004 she has been working as an actress and director for Theater Anu. She and Stefan Behr have been sharing artistic direction since 2008. They got married in 2009.
Productions
- 2019 Perpetuum - city without hardship , repertoire
- 2019 How to heal a heart , Bad Nauheim, commissioned production
- 2018 Dreamer , Tempelhofer Feld Berlin, repertoire
- 2017 Star time , Bad Herrenalb spa gardens for the garden show
- 2016 Sheherazade: Yunus in the maze of stories / The city of storytellers
- 2013 Schattenwald - a poetic journey into the dark forest, repertoire
- 2012 Ovid's Dream - in the Garden of Changes, Repertoire
- 2011 Come to MoraLand, repertoire
- 2010 The key hunt, commissioned production for the city of Oranienburg
- 2010 Am Lichterfluss, commissioned production of the opening of the cultural summer in Rhineland-Palatinate
- 2010 The Legend of The Winged Boy, commissioned production Newcastle, Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site
- 2010 Engel over Zollverein, opening of European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010, Essen
- 2009 Angels over Berlin, 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Berlin
- 2009 Opening of the Congress Center Heidenheim, commissioned production for the city of Heidenheim
- 2009 The Moortslandfest, commissioned production for the design studio Fabritastika, Switzerland
- 2008 Angels and Thieves, commissioned production for the city of Heidenheim
- 2008 Angel Museum - a theatrical installation, repertoire
- 2007 The great journey - encounters in the labyrinth of lights, repertoire
- 2005 Traces of light - a poetic park display, repertoire
- 2004 Opening event Hessentag , Heppenheim
- 2001 The Sun Chariot - Phaethon's Flight, to Ovid, repertoire played
- 1998 The moon - a poetic stilt theater based on a Grimm fairy tale motif, repertoire
Appearances
- 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall
- Opening of the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010 in Essen
- Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site, Newcastle / England
- Ruhr Festival Recklinghausen
- 850 anniversary of Munich
- Long Night of the Heidelberg Museums
- Long night of the museums in Berlin
- Opening of the cultural summer in Rhineland-Palatinate
- Opening of the Hessentag 2004
- Long Night of Museums 2011 Munich (St. Paul)
Festivals
- Festival TAC in Valladolid / Spain
- FETA Festival in Gdansk / Poland
- Leuven in Scene in Leuven / Belgium
- Fringe Festival in Lucerne / Switzerland
- tête-à-tête in Rastatt
- Neuhardenberg night
- La Piazza in Augsburg
- International summer spectacle Braunschweig
- La Strada in Bremen
- Kulturufer in Friedrichshafen
- Cologne summer
- Old town festival in Vienna
- International shadow theater festival in Schwäbisch Gmünd
- International street theater festival in Ludwigshafen
- Soundtracks (Irsee) 2013
- International Street Theater Festival Holzminden 2005 and 2015
Awards
In 2005, Theater Anu won the audience award at the 8th International Street Theater Festival in Holzminden with the production of “Lichtspuren” and again in 2015 in Holzminden with the production of “Ovid’s Dream”.
