30 years of antagonistic theater.
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Antagon theaterAKTion, a theatre founded by Bernhard Bub 30 years ago (in 1990).
It is one of the largest and most famous free theatre ensembles in Germany.
The theatre group lives and works in a collective in the east of Frankfurt.
Antagon uses a non-verbal, emotional way of communication that is beyond words. Therefore antagon shows can be understood world-wide. In fact the Ensemble already played in a lot of countries like for instance in Cameroon, Laos, Cuba, Costa Rica, Mexico, Iran, Armenia, Kazakstan, Brazil, Singapore, Russia… and in almost all the countries of Europe. From day one, the concept was to bring theatre and dance to the people in public spaces and to transform these locations into cultural places.
A highlight of antagon’s work has been the presentation of the production “Ginkgo – theatre about hope” at the Expo 2008 in Zaragoza , Spain. In 2011 antagon was on tour in Mexico, performing at the largest theatre festival in Central America (Cervantino, Guanojuato). Since 1990, over 300 people were in the group and with her on stage. Children were born, more projects and new groups emerged.
Who we are
Antagon theatreAKTion is an international theatre company based in Frankfurt am Main. 1990
by Bernhard Bub as a political action theatre, it has over 33 years of experience with
theatre in public space and on stage.
Using the means of physical theatre, live music and dance, it creates impressive images which
touch people in an emotional way in their concrete life reality, break blind routines and again and again
routines and ask the question again and again: How could things be different, and how can we
act differently together?
At the centre of this is always the claim to detach theatre from its intellectual-elitist
intellectual-elitist contexts and to revive it as a place of encounter and dialogue accessible to all.
dialogue accessible to all. In this way, audience and performers meet face to face.
the theatre becomes a confrontation with a shared reality.
Antagon's work emerges from an intensive collective process based on the question: What happens when people from different backgrounds meet?
happens when people of different backgrounds and nationalities come together for a common idea?
idea?
The unique, multi-faceted visual language of the pieces is preferably without words and can be understood all over the world.
understandable all over the world. It often finds its roots in anthropological research
research processes that strive to make voices and points of view visible beyond the dominant
and perspectives beyond the dominant narratives of our culture, and thus also sees itself as decolonial theatre.
Over the course of the season (Feb. - Nov.), large-scale productions and performances with up to
with up to 25 participants, but also smaller performance projects and solo works.
Educational and socio-cultural projects, as well as public trainings and networking opportunities
with the regional dance, theatre and performance scene are an important part of antagon's work.
antagon's work. These are developed in partnership with the cultural association protagon - international
performing arts.
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Theatre of the World
antagon's plays communicate in a language beyond verbal spoken theatre: Through
movements and other modes of performative presentation, which can be understood in a form of "communication of the heart and feelings" in Cameroon as in Frankfurt am Main.
Extensive tours have been realised. Besides Germany, Central and South America,
Africa, Asia, Western Europe and, most recently, Eastern Europe. Highlights were, among others
presentation of the Ginkgo production at the Expo 2008 in Zaragoza, Spain. In 2011
antagon toured Mexico and was invited to the largest theatre festival in Central America.
(Cervantino, Guanojuato). In 2013, antagon was commissioned to perform at the end of the Landesfest,
the Hessentag in Kassel, its biggest production - Ginkgo. In 2014, antagon received an award at
at the Parade of Cultures in Frankfurt am Main for the scenes presented from
F.A.U.S.T. III - The Price of Happiness - Theatre about Money. In 2015, the ensemble finally performed in the
German Pavilion at the Expo in Milan. In 2017, antagon was again invited with its ensemble to the
Expo in Kazakhstan and performed at the opening weekend. The international
theatre festival in San Jose, Costa Rica with Ginkgo in front of 15,000 people, the
President and Ministers and broadcast live on television.
Since 1990, over 300 people have been part of the antagon ensemble on the "stage". Children have been
and are born, families are founded and old plays are re-staged in ever new formations.
Co-productions with other international theatres that the group has encountered in all these years
have been on an equal footing with guest performances and tours.
"I appreciate the people who are antagon because they have both feet firmly in the clouds.
(Karl Krause, retired director of the Künstlerhaus Mouson Turm).
Past productions
1991 La Chasse exchange project with a French theatre group
1991 Des Geyers schwarzer Haufen Platzbespielung - spectacle about violence and death
1992 Caspar Hauser Square Performance
1993 Get Natural Indoor
1994 Stranded - the dream, the city, the leap Street theatre
1995 Screams No Man's Land Square performance
1996 Orgia Fogo Indoor
1997 Equinox Terminal Square performance
1998 Human Form Dance Theatre Experiment (Indoor)
2000 Theatre and performance exchange project with actors from Santiago de Chile
2000 Integral Performance in three scenes, trapeze, dance,
musical accompaniment
2001 QUO Square performance
2003 Time Out performance
2005 Frame Games performance
2006 Gingko Square performance
2007 H2O - Remember the Future? Co-production with England and Slovenia
2009 Orlando Furioso Co-production with Teatro Nucleo, Square performance
2012 F.A.U.S.T. III- The price of happiness Square performance
2014 Guernica Co-production with Theatro en Vol, performance in the square
2015 Package Square performance
2016 Into the hearts a fire performative street theatre
2018 Dream of a Thing Square performance
2018 Labyrinth performance installation
2020 Theater Mobil mobile street theatre
2020 Corpus Mundi Solo Barbara Luci Carvalho
2021 Klima X Square performance
2021 In Between Performance
2021 HAUT Performance
2021 Camará Duo Müller/Tanajura
2022 Diaspora Co-Production with Ondadurto Teatro, Square Performance
2023 Red Rose Duo Müller/Müller
2023 Falling Elephant Duo Hailer/Büttner
2023 Ashes Square performance
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Performance venues until 2023 (selection)
Germany: Altenkirchen, Bad Vilbel, Beckum, Berlin, Böblingen, Borken, Brandenburg, Bremen,
Brilon, Chemnitz, Diez, Dortmund, Dülmen, Erding, Erfurt, Esslingen, Frankfurt/M., Garbsen, Gera,
Görlitz, Grailsheim, Greiz, Hachenburg, Hagen, Halle, Hamburg, Herford, Hanau, Holzminden, Hamm,
Iserlohn, Isny, Koblenz, Lärz, Lauterbach, Lemgo, Limburg, Lübeck, Ludwigsburg, Ludwigshafen,
Mainz, Mannheim, Memmingen, Mörschied, Mühlheim, Naumburg, Oldenburg, Plauen, Radebeul,
Rastatt, Rüsselsheim, Saarbrücken, Siegen, Schwerin, Schwerte, Trier, Unna, Weimar, Wiesbaden,
Wolfen, Würzburg, Cologne, Offenbach, etc.
Western Europe: Rome (IT), Abbiategrasse (IT), Almeria (E), Amsterdam (NL), Andalusia (E), Aurillac (F),
Barcelona (CAT), Chalon sur Saone (F), Deventer (NL), Elche (E), Fernan Perez (E), Genk (B), Graz (A),
Groningen (NL) , Guarda (P), Kortijk (B), Lille (F), Limoges (F), Luxembourg (L), Oss (NL), Perigueux (F),
Porto (P), Sottville (F), Tarrega (CAT), Udenhout (NL), Valladolid (E), Villach (A), Zaragoza (E), Malmö
(S), Ferrara (IT), Appeldorn (NL), Borlänge (S), Rotterdam (NL), Stigliano (IT), Stockton (GB), Great
Yarmouth (GB)
Eastern Europe: Brno (CZE), Prague (CZE), Gdansk (PL), Jelenia Gora (PL), Poznan (PL), Sibiu (ROM), Szechin
(PL), Warsaw (PL), Kalisz (PL), Lódz (PL), Gryfino (PL), Maribor (SLO), Ljubljana (SLO), Bucharest
(ROM), Sibiu, Bacau (ROM), Belgrade (SRB), Moscow (RUS), Perm (RUS), Saint Petersburg (RUS),
Klaipeda (LT), Istanbul (TR), Georgia
Latin America: Bogota (COL), Cancun (MEX), Chetumal (MEX), Festival Cervantino (MEX), Zacatecas
(MEX), Puebla (MEX), Havana (Cuba), Porto Alegre (BRS), Quito (EQU), Riberao Preto (BRS), Belo
Horizonte (BRS), Rio de Janeiro (BRS), Santiago de Chile (CHI), Sao Paulo (BRS), Salvador da Bahia
(BRS), San Jose (Costa Rica)
Asia: Yerevan (AM), Vientiane (Laos), Singapore (SG),
Africa: Doula (Cameroon)
Middle East: Tehran (Iran)