In the organizer's words:

Greta's Metamorphosis is an interdisciplinary theater evening and installation that sheds new light on feminist and postcolonial perspectives based on Kafka's work.

The focus is on the character Greta, who is developed from various female figures in Kafka's texts such as The Trial, The Metamorphosis and Letter to Milena. The question is posed as to how women can realize their own paths in life, away from patriarchal expectations and social constraints.

In an installative stage space that blurs the boundaries between exhibition and playable scenography, the performance combines elements of drama, oral history, traditional music and video art to create a multimedia experience. This artistic fusion creates a space in which complex discourses on gender roles, identity and cultural diversity become visible and tangible.

ABOUT THE PIECE
The project aims to sensitize a broad audience to the issues of gender equality and cultural diversity. By reinterpreting classic literature from a feminist and post-colonial perspective, we want to encourage critical thinking and stimulate discussions about social norms. On the one hand, the diverse creative team (from Cameroon, Iran and Germany) will contribute their own unique cultural experiences, and on the other, the research section (which will become an installation in the stage space) will feature different women's voices from different nations. This increases the visibility of underrepresented voices in society.

Why is Greta crying?

This question is the starting point for Edith Nana's theater and installation project. Growing up in Cameroon, she read Kafka's work "The Metamorphosis" in the 9th grade. Since then, she has been interested in what Kafka's character Greta might say and how she would act if only she could. The text mentions twice that Greta cries. Why she does this, however, remains open. Due to her brother's changed position in the family structure and ultimately his death, Grete is transformed into a marriageable woman. No one asks her whether these are her expectations of the future, whether she has chosen this perspective for herself.

Like Grete's lack of perspective, there are many gaps in Kafka's texts because the positions of female characters do not appear, or their dreams and expectations of a future are defined by men. Another example of this is Milena, whose letters, unlike Kafka's correspondence with her, were not published. Her words and thoughts to Kafka do not appear; only the male perspective is received. Edith Nana takes these gaps in the texts as an opportunity to create a space for the female figures. What would these characters say if they could? What decisions would they make for themselves? What are their dreams and expectations for the future?

ABOUT THE ARTIST / COMPANY
Édith Voges Nana Tchuinang is a German-Cameroonian actress. She initially worked at the OTHNI - Laboratoire de Théâtre de Yaoundé. After numerous performances at various theaters in Cameroon, Edith Voges Nana Tchuinang has been living and working in Germany since 2016.

There she has performed at Theater Hagen, Schauspiel Dortmund, Schauspiel Bochum, Ringlokschuppen Ruhr and tak - Theater Aufbau Kreuzberg, among others. She has been writing and directing her own plays and performances since 2022. Her themes are feminism and the creation of new stories for the 21st century.