Life Runners

The project is called: Life Runners.
It is an exhibition and staged reading.

Staged reading means:
Something is read aloud.
On stage.
Like a small play.

People meet each other.
They tell stories about fleeing.

What is it about in general?

Young refugees meet older people.

The young refugees are new in Germany.
The older people are from Germany.
They also had to flee.
When they were young.

They get to know each other.
They listen to each other.
They show respect for each other.

The project shows:
Fleeing is part of many life stories.

What is it about exactly?

The project started in 2016.
At that time, many people came to Germany.

Young refugees from the region
met German seniors.
These older people had also been refugees in the past.
For example during the Second World War.
Or when they escaped from the former GDR.

GDR is short a short form.
It stands for a country:
Germany used to be divided.
One part was called:
German Democratic Republic.
The other part was called:
Federal Republic of Germany.
Today, both parts are one country again.

Young and old people wrote letters to each other.
This created contact.
This created trust.

A photographer accompanied the project.
She took photos of the meetings.
At the end, there was an exhibition.
And a reading with scenes.
The public could see everything.

The project also shows:
Good ideas are not always easy.
Sometimes there are misunderstandings.
Sometimes there is rejection.

But there are also similarities.
More than many people think.

The premiere was in 2017.
The concept was by
Dominik Breuer,
Eric Rentmeister,
and Claudia Sowa.

The project was created with theatres
from Remscheid and Leverkusen.

It received support
from many foundations and institutions.
The project was nominated for an award.

Photos

Photos by Claudia Dilay Hauf
and Brachland-Ensemble.