FREMD

In the organizer's words:

Michel Friedman's drama "Fremd" deals intensively with the themes of identity, belonging and exclusion.

Michel Friedman has dealt with the term "foreign" in various contexts, often in connection with questions of identity, integration and social coexistence. He emphasizes that the feeling of being foreign is not so much a characteristic of people themselves, but rather a construct that arises through demarcation and exclusion in society.

Friedman argues that no one is "foreign" by nature, but that this label is often used to emphasize differences and exclude people. For him, "foreign" is a term that reflects power relations and is used to divide rather than connect. Instead, he argues for an understanding of identity that is defined by encounter and exchange, in which the foreign is seen as an enrichment and not a threat.

If only we could recognize that everyone is someone, that they deserve the respect we want for ourselves because we are also someone and want to be perceived as someone, we would have already gained a lot. Recognizing the other person as someone, listening to them, seeing them as that someone. That is a gift and we should be generous with it.

A play that has an impact far beyond the author's biography.

It tells of deepest grief, hurt and a feeling of being a stranger through exclusion. Emotions that are not unfamiliar to many of us.