A Mission For Sisyphos
The two actors Martin Bretschneider and Atdhe Ramadani are currently rehearsing together with the Syrian pianist Aeham Ahmad for the theater production A Mission For Sisyphos, which will premiere on January 28, 2023 in the sports center of the SJC Hövelriege. The play will deal with the ancient myth of Sisyphus and its interpretation by Albert Camus. The ancient hero Sisyphus was punished by the gods by rolling a huge stone up a mountain that kept rolling down. The gods rightly believed that there was no crueller punishment than useless and hopeless work. The evening at the theater will deal with this feeling of hopelessness and absurdity.
A Mission For Sisyphus is produced by Martin Bretschneider, who is also responsible for the text version. Bretschneider has already dealt with the philosophy of the absurd in a highly acclaimed production of „Caligula“ at the Rottstraße5 Theater in Bochum, in which he played the title role. „Albert Camus is very close to me because he doesn’t deny the desperation of the world and yet calls for action,“ says Bretschneider. The visible and invisible borders that refugees and immigrants are constantly confronted with are to be highlighted in particular.
The life story of Aeham Ahmad serves the team as a first-hand source. Ahmad, who became internationally known as the “pianist from the rubble”, grew up as a Palestinian refugee in the Syrian refugee camp Yarmouk in Damascus, performed between bombed-out houses and public squares during the civil war, and fled to Germany in September 2015.
The team for A Mission For Sisyphus also includes Felix Linnemann as project manager and Atdhe Ramadani, who had to flee Kosovo as a child and grew up at Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock. Ramadani started acting at the SJC Hövelriege and now works as a drama teacher and actor. In addition to Bretschneider and him, Aeham Ahmad is also included in the scenic play. „Aeham’s stage presence is amazing,“ says Felix Linnemann, „his energy and humor flow into the evening, which will deal with failure and despair, but above all give courage and joy and should entertain the audience.“
Three performances of A Mission For Sisyphus are planned in the sports home of the SJC Hövelriege. The dates are January 28 (premier), January 29 and February 4, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at Ingo’s Biomarkt in Hövelhof. Reservation requests can also be sent by email to felix@sjcmagazin.de. The production is supported by the State Office for the Performing Arts NRW and presented by the Intercultural Center Hövelriege.