Blutbuch

In the organizer's words:

"When I think of you, I think of all the things we never could and never will be able to say to each other."

Grandma used to tell the family stories. But did they really happen that way? Or did the usually grumpy old lady color the past the way she wanted to? Now that her memories are gradually fading, it's time for the main character in Blutbuch to delve into the events herself. A turbulent odyssey through her own biography begins. In the process, she comes across events that are upsetting and that she doesn't want to be reminded of. But whenever a warm summer wind blows through the copper beech in the garden, she regains her strength and rewrites the family history. Her version of history. Her own body used to feel alien, as if disconnected from the self. Today, she identifies as non-binary. Her newfound awareness offers her body a home for the first time.
Kim de l'Horizon's debut novel, which was awarded the German and Swiss Book Prize, among others, resembles a kaleidoscope in form and content, as shimmering and rich in contrast as personalities are that expose pigeonholing as obsolete.
Blutbuch is the third work by director and set designer Ran Chai Bar-zvi at Schauspiel Hannover. Like Kim de l'Horizon's attempt to break through old attributions and open up new spaces of possibility, Ran Chai Bar-zvi's production will jump through genres and explore new narrative forms.

Kurt Hübner Directing Prize for director Ran Chai Bar-zvi
The Kurt Hübner Directing Award 2024 goes to director and set designer Ran Chai Bar-zvi for his production of Blutbuch. The Kurt Hübner Directing Prize is awarded annually by the city of Bensheim and the German Academy of Performing Arts. It is endowed with 5,000 euros.
According to the jury's statement: "Ran Chai Bar-zvi always tackles even large, existential material with ease and an incredible instinct for entertainment, opening up the events on stage to the audience. At the same time, he never runs the risk of trivializing the serious core of the plays. The production of Blutbuch begins with a drag show in the theater café, where the audience is introduced to the themes of the evening with wit and charm. Later, the narrator's life, characterized by resistance, fears and struggles, but also by the joy of experimentation, is brought to the stage in the theater with simple yet imaginative means - the means of the show are also still used - and a highly committed three-person ensemble." This happens in front of a predominantly young, enthusiastic audience that has been making a pilgrimage to the Staatstheater Hannover for this performance for a year now and is thrilled by the sensuality of the evening."