Go Back to Where You Came From | THEATER DER WELT

In the organizer's words:

Generations in a personal conversation about origins: a search for traces of a colonial and migrant family history across continents.

At the age of 77, Ana Gigi from Cape Verde enters a theater space in Lisbon for the first time as a performer. At her side is Keli Freitas from Brazil. She is a migrant in Portugal and works as an artist. On this evening in the theater, the two women present themselves as chroniclers of their respective origins. In her search for traces of Freitas' Portuguese-Brazilian family history, the young artist began not only a personal but also a politically motivated research project on current issues of belonging and citizenship. The result is an exciting, profound and emotional evening of theater spanning four generations about closeness, memory - and the right to be there.
Keli Freitas is an author by profession. Her play provocatively bears the same title as an internationally produced reality television format, marketed in Germany as "Auf der Flucht: The Experiment". It deals with controversial topics such as flight, migration, foreignness and homelessness.
These are precisely the themes that Keli Freitas explores when investigating her family history. As migration between Portugal and Brazil is part of a movement that has developed over a long period of time, these themes appear in a completely new light on this evening. Migration here is a story of community building. Through this extraordinarily personal encounter on stage, it becomes an experience for everyone. Origin is not fixed, but rather tentatively questioned. Who decides where someone belongs? Go Back to Where You Came From by Keli Freitas is an autobiographical work that does not look backwards to find answers, but forwards to make gaps visible.

Location: Spinnbau - Figurentheater
Introduction: 30 minutes before the start of each performance
Duration: 1 h 30 min
Information: In Portuguese with German and English surtitles

All further information at: https://www.theaterderwelt.de/programm/

A festival of the German Centre of the International Theatre Institute e.V.
Organized by Chemnitz Theatres, the Festival Academy Brussels and the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 GmbH.

Price information:

Tickets at: theaterderwelt.de/go-back-to-where-you-came-from | 35% discount with festival pass. More information at: theaterderwelt.de/service/tickets