Cekwana and Larsen’s performances and installation transform the auditorium of HAU1. Through staged guided tours, game shows and a talk show, the performers attempt to answer the hypothesised questions of redressing the colonial heritage. OJ Simpson, Oscar Pistorius, the modern judiciary process-by-media... could a global sports icon be substituted by a global colonial power in this “trial-by-media” musical chairs game? Could a distant scream for justice be a worthy replacement for our penchant for instant public gratification? Could a colonial crimes tribunal garner enough TV ratings to warrant a prime (time) entertainment spot? What if the celebrities of the 21st century were no longer the talentless beauty queens of Smallville USA, Teutonic tit-willows or fallen sport heroes, but infallible European master nations? What if we were to reject the traditional Western courtroom and replace it with the crucible of reality TV and stage the case for reparations against colonialism and slavery there?
Coproduction: HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Theater Werkstatt Pilkentafel (Flensburg), KVS (Brüssel), Creative Industries Fund NL.