Against War: Theater InCognito Plays Sartre

The Theater InCognito group of the University of Bremen invites you to the premiere in the theatre hall on campus at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 27, 2021. They perform Jean-Paul Sartre’s adaptation of “Euripides’ Trojan Women”.

“Sartre’s play is based on Euripides’ original, but has been changed to such a degree that it is regarded as an original play itself,” says director Franz Josef Eggstein, who stages the play with ten students. Following the premiere, there will be further performances at 8 p.m. in the theatre hall under the Mensa on July 28, July 29, July 30, and July 31, 2021.

What Is It About?

It is the morning after the Greeks have conquered Troy. On the beach in front of the devastated city, the surviving women wait to be handed over to the Greek victors and taken to their ships. It is the last moment of their lives together as Trojan women before they are scattered to the four winds and all memory of them and of life in Troy will be permanently extinguished. In retrospections, laments, and bitter visions of their future as slaves, all the futility of a merciless war unfolds before the audience. The characters include: Hecuba, the former queen, who has lost all of her family except her daughter Cassandra. Andromache, the wife of Hector, and beautiful Helen of Troy – a turncoat par excellence, who once again turns the head of her ex-husband Menelaus, returns with him to their old home Sparta to reign there again as queen. The real heroes of the play, however, are all of the Trojan women, symbolized by the choir.

Safe Performances Through Social Distancing and Hygiene Rules

In pandemic times, social distancing and hygiene rules apply to the performances. In order to comply with these, a maximum number of 35 individuals per performance are allowed in the audience. All visitors must present a valid negative COVID-19 test result, no older than 24 hours, from an official testing center. Tickets are between seven and eleven euros and can only be purchased via the theater’s website: www.theaterinCognito.de. All members of the audience are required to wear a medical-grade mask. The play will be in German.

“We are very happy that the performances are now possible in front of a live audience,” says Franz Josef Eggstein. For the students, the months of lockdown were a difficult time, and rehearsals on campus were often the only face-to-face event for many. “Our course participants often tell us how important it is for them to meet the other actors, to be on stage with them, and to act – even if wearing a mask,” says Eggstein.

About Theater InCognito:

Theater InCognito (TiC) was founded in 2010 as an independent non-profit association at the University of Bremen. The project is part of the Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI) at the Faculty of Social Sciences. It all started with the “Theater in Practice” seminar. Since then, the theater group brings plays to the stage of the university theater hall at regular intervals. The plays are designed as one-semester or two-semester projects. Students from any degree course of the university can gain credit points (CP) in the field of “General Studies” when participating in the TiC seminar. “This is how our theater projects reflect the diversity of the university’s degree courses,” says Eggstein. TiC supports the actors in the development of their roles with physical and vocal exercises. “We also support them in designing stage sets and advertising campaigns for each play.”