Opera Village Africa and “Deconfining Arts, Culture, and Policies in Europe and Africa”: World Premiere at the Lehár Theater during the European Theater Festival in Bad Ischl

As our collaboration with the „Deconfining Arts, Culture and Policies in Europe and Africa“

reaches its peak, the theater production “Inbox / Salz & Säulen” will have its world premiere at the Lehár Theater in Bad Ischl on October 9, 2024. This production is based on the theatrical texts by Sidiki Yougbaré and Thiemo Strutzenberger, created during the Writers Residency, and integrates artworks by Thierry Oussou and Ava Binta Giallo, which were developed in the Fine Arts Residency.

The play explores the question of how old patterns can be broken and reshaped. The texts reflect on themes of memory work and the (im)possibility of communicating one’s own history. Directed by Polina Solotowizki and Sidiki Yougbaré, the piece will be performed by an international ensemble as part of the European Theater Festival in Bad Ischl.

The European Theater Festival is dedicated to the suppressed and forgotten aspects of memory and seeks new strategies for remembrance culture. The focus is not on retelling the past but on developing new forms and languages to address the wounds of history. The festival gathers theater projects that not only represent the past but also create a utopian strategy of remembrance. Theater as a medium is particularly well-suited for working on memory and collective consciousness because it turns the past into a newly invented present, allowing us to engage with our history here and now. Each invited production team works under the same conditions: limited budget, short rehearsal time, and one hour each for setup and performance. The festival showcases concentrated scenic designs and theatrical sketches without elaborate technical resources.

The participating artists:

Ava Binta Giallo (Germany/Guinea)
Ava Binta Giallo received her training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, among other institutions. The visual artist, poet, and analog filmmaker lives and works between Vienna, Austria, and Mindelo, Cape Verde. Giallo’s work focuses on the craft of weaving, both technically and metaphorically, to create structure and a network of connections. She also works with the symbol of the spiral, the snail (Festspielhaus Africa), a form that in its openness symbolizes a freedom of possibilities.

Justin Ouindiga (known as “GSK”) (Burkina Faso)
Justin Ouindiga, known by his stage name “GSK,” is a Burkinabe actor who has gained widespread recognition for his impressive performances. His career began with a casting for a role in a short film, which eventually led him to cinema. He has appeared in films such as “Le Fauteuil” by Missa Hebié and “Le Cœur du Lion” by Aboubacar Diallo. GSK completed a seven-year training program at the Atelier du Théâtre Burkinabè and made a name for himself with his role in the popular series “Affaires Publiques.” In addition to his acting career, he is also a carpenter, married, and the father of three children. In 2020, he was awarded the Sotigui Award for Best Male Performance.

Nabalüm (real name: Aminata Nabaloum) (Burkina Faso)
Nabalüm, whose real name is Aminata Nabaloum, is a Burkinabe singer, songwriter, and composer who has achieved success in the Afro-Soul genre. She was born in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where she spent her childhood and school years. At the age of five, she discovered her passion for music by singing along to Céline Dion’s songs. During her youth, she participated in numerous singing competitions in Côte d’Ivoire. At one of these competitions, which was broadcast on national television, she met her future producer Alif Naaba. With his support, she returned to Burkina Faso for the first time, where she took part in an artistic residency program. Nabalüm received her musical training at the production company “La Cours Naaba” and released her debut album “Saké” in 2018. Her songs, deeply connected to her African roots, address the lives of African youth, the situation of women, and societal issues on the continent. She has been recognized for her musical achievements, receiving multiple awards, including the “Kundé de la Révélation” in 2017 and the award from the Moroccan Embassy at the Faso Music Awards. In 2019, she received another Kundé, and in 2024, she was honored as the Best Female Artist with the Kundé Award.

Polina Solotowizki (Germany)
Polina Solotowizki was born in Moscow and grew up amidst German, Russian, and Jewish cultures. After completing her directing studies at the Russian Institute of Theater Arts in 2018, she worked as a freelance director at repertory theaters in the Russian-speaking world. In 2020/21, she began her Master’s degree in Expanded Theatre at the Bern University of the Arts. Her Master’s project “Frontstage”—a documentary piece about masculinity between play and war, featuring a Ukrainian and a Russian actor—was invited to the 2024 Heidelberger Stückemarkt. In the same year, Polina was selected for the International Forum of the Theatertreffen. Artistically, Polina Solotowizki is interested in the intersection between the identity of performers, their roles, and the sense of presence through performative means. In her work, she addresses social and political issues from personal perspectives and seeks to build cultural bridges. She often follows a documentary approach in her artistic process.

Sidiki Yougbaré (Burkina Faso)
Sidiki Yougbaré is an actor, writer, and director. In 2004, he decided to write his plays in Mooré, the national language of Burkina Faso, spoken by the majority of the population. With this, he introduced a theatrical literary genre previously unknown in his country. Some of his plays have been produced and presented in Africa and Europe. As a translator, he has adapted and/or translated various works. Yougbaré has also directed numerous performances, most recently “Beoogo” (2022), a play that he also wrote.

Thierry Oussou (Benin/Netherlands)
Thierry Oussou received an art education at the Rijksakademie in the Netherlands. The visual and conceptual artist works with a variety of media. He researches material and immaterial heritage that has been forgotten by institutions or local communities and tries to understand the erasures and continuities of the past in the present. In December 2023, Oussou spent a month at the Operndorf Afrika, collaborating with weavers, potters, and founders from Ziniaré in Burkina Faso to create artworks for the theater production.

Thiemo Strutzenberger (Austria)
Thiemo Strutzenberger studied acting at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna. During his training, he was engaged at the Burgtheater Vienna between 2002 and 2005. This was followed by engagements at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, Theater Neumarkt in Zurich, Schauspielhaus Vienna, and Theater Basel. In 2014, he was nominated for the Austrian Nestroy Theater Award as Best Actor. He completed his Master’s degree in Gender Studies at the University of Vienna in 2014 and participated in FORUM Text at uniT (Graz). His first directorial work was realized in 2017 at Theater Basel. In 2020, his plays “Wiederauferstehung der Vögel” at Theater Basel and “Der Preis des Menschen” at Munich’s Residenztheater premiered. From 2019 to 2024, he was engaged at Munich’s Residenztheater. Since 2024, he has been newly engaged at the Burgtheater Vienna. Thiemo Strutzenberger was part of the Graduate College Gender Studies at the University of Basel and earned his PhD in 2021.