Input Theater

Input Theater is a stage play by and with artists with migration experience dedicated to the annual theme of the ecumenical campaign by HEKS and Fastenaktion

Input Theater
Initiated by artlink on behalf of
HEKS and Fastenaktion
since 2015

Input Theater

Input Theater is part of a long-standing collaboration between artlink and the Swiss non-governmental organisations HEKS and Fastenaktion. artlink develops, produces and promotes Input Theater on behalf of its partners on the occasion of their annual ecumenical campaign – a humanitarian fundraising campaign taking place in the two months before Easter.

Each ecumenical campaign focuses on a specific topic in the areas of climate justice, consumption, raw materials and trade, access to land and seeds or gender justice. The Input Theater takes up and engages with the campaign's annual theme. The play is non-denominational and can be performed for various audiences, including church congregations in order to shed light on a particular theme or in secondary schools, raising awareness about global development issues.

Transcultural collaboration

For each Input Theater edition artlink commissions an author who – in consultation with a performer – develops a storyline related to the annual campaign theme. artlink works primarily with performers with migration experience from Africa, Latin America, Southeast and Southwest Asia, and Eastern Europe. artlink highlights the transcultural aesthetics of and the multiple perspectives on the campaign theme. artlink accompanies the production of the piece and shoulders its dissemination.

Small but strong

The Input Theater is deliberately small in terms of its cast, duration and logistics. It lasts 20 minutes, is a solo performance and requires neither stage design nor sophisticated technology. Input Theater plays operate with few props and simple costumes and can thus be performed in a variety of contexts and locations. They are suitable both as a single performance or as part of interactive formats featuring a subsequent discussion.

Impactful

The Input Theater creates an emotional bond between the audience and the HEKS and Fastenaktion campaign theme. The solo format captivates through direct storytelling and appeals to a broad and diverse public.

Events

  1. The last drops (2023)

    Text and performance: Lubna Abou Kheir

    Slanda comes from the past to tell us that there is still a chance to live in the future. There is wheat and water, enough to live on for everyone. From every grain of wheat and a little water, an ear of corn grows.

    Slanda is already in the room at the beginning of the play. She walks through the audience and distributes grains of wheat. She begins to tell her story. Slanda steps onto the stage and walks with the rhythm of the story, remembering the wheat and the water of her home country Syria. Now she stands on the iron platform that covered the "water room" back then and tells her story in the rhythm of the traditional Dabke dance. Finally, Slanda leaves the stage - the water, the wheat and the rhythm remain in the room.
     

  2. Ajala - Earth (2022)

    Text: Donat Blum
    Performance: Anjali Keshava und Sumitra Keshava

    Ajala is a climate scientist and astronaut. In the performance Ajala – Earth, she reflects on her time aboard the International Space Station (ISS), where she witnessed the stark contrast between the drying landscapes of the southern part of the world—where her parents were born—and the brightly illuminated northern regions, where they now live. Through Indian dance and direct dialogue with the audience, Ajala explores our relationship with the planet.

    How much space do we want to occupy on Earth? Do we want to save our planet, or should we seek a new home in outer space? Using the unique format of theatre, Ajala and the audience engage with questions of climate justice. The performance creates a rich and multifaceted space for reflection, inviting audiences to think deeply about this global challenge.