- Exilio will be showcased live and online on February 19 and 22 within the Brecht Festival Augsburg;
- The ten-day festival celebrates Brecht in all genres with contributions from eleven countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.
Bertold Brecht spent 15 years of his life in exile. A life-changing biographical experience shared by millions of people, in the past and in the present.
“Exilio” expresses the reality of all those who feel compelled to leave their homeland. The show highlights texts, music, and audiovisual scenography fed by documentary and artistic elements. The award-winning film actor Alex Brendemühl, the soloist guitarist Nora Buschmann, the director Lalo García and the producer Txell Sabartés are also connected to this topic through their own family stories: the Spanish Civil War, the Franco dictatorship, the Second World War, and the former GDR.
Nora Buschman understands “Exilio” from three different perspectives: “On the one hand, I was born in East Berlin and grew up with the Wall. Exile was always present, many friends were forced to leave or to flee to West Berlin for political reasons. Some were in prison. On the other hand, my stepfather was a Polish communist. Many of his comrades and relatives that I have met fought in the war. After all, I lived in Greece and Argentina. This gave me an understanding of what it means to create a place by yourself, to learn new languages and new customs.”
Alex Brendemühl’s biography is also marked by experiences in exile: “My great-grandfather was president of the Catalan Court of Cassation during the time of the republic. Because of his beliefs and his position he was forced into exile. My grandfather was in prison for the same reason, he was also considered a “Red and Catalan nationalist”. On the other hand, there was my father, who at the age of just 18 left the GDR had to leave because he didn’t conform to the regime’s ideological standards.”
Literary concept and recitation
Alex Brendemuhl
Musical concept, guitar and vocals
Nora Buschman
Audiovisual and image concept
Lalo Garcia
Production
Txell Sabartes
Lyrics: Angel González, Antonio Machado, José Agustín Goytisolo, Angelina Muñiz-Huberman, Rafael Alberti, Blas de Otero, José Hierro, Salvador Espriu, Leon Felipe, Luis Cernuda, Jaime Gil de Biedma, María Zambrano, Bertolt Brecht
Music: Ricardo Cianferoni, Manuel de Falla, Miquel Llobet, Federico García Lorca, Joaquín Rodrigo, Isaac Álbeniz, Eduardo Sáinz de la Maza, Ferran Ros, Jorge Cardoso, Antonio Ruiz-Pipó
Pictures and drawings: Josep Bartoli, Louis Llech, Josep Narro, Manuel Moros, and Samuel Nacar