In the organizer's words:

SCHAUSPIEL

Small house

A song recital about four women's lives
by and with Nihan Devecioğlu
In Turkish and German language
Concept and artistic direction: Nihan Devecioğlu
Director: Frank Abt
Music: Nihan Devecioğlu, Matti Weber

One of the most important traditions of Turkish folk culture is that of the traveling poets, the Âşıklar. The Turkish term "Âşık" means love and devotion and also stands for the Anatolian minstrel and storyteller who sings his poetry on a saz, a long-necked lute. Âşıklar sing of great emotions and of social and political experiences, forming a deep connection with the people whose lives they sing about. This is a male-dominated field to which women rarely have access.
Istanbul-born soprano and experimental singer Nihan Devecioğlu develops her own song recital and becomes a female Âşık: she sings about the lives of four women who embarked on a life-changing journey from Turkey to Germany in the 1960s and 1970s. Based on video interviews that Nihan Devecioğlu conducted together with documentary filmmaker Orhan Çalışır, she tells of the experiences of the first generation of "guest workers" from a female perspective. The singer gives space to the feelings and motivations of Feriha Demirtaş, Makbule Kurnaz, Yıldız Saraç-Fritsche and Emine Ulusen, honors their stories that have not been heard for a long time and sings for them.