Fremd

About

The production "Fremd" is based on a lyrical, autobiographical prose-poem by Michel Friedman. It tells of a child born in France to survivors of the Shoah; the family is stateless and without a home. In the 1960s they immigrate to Germany—the country that had nearly annihilated the parents’ relatives. The child experiences profound otherness, the feeling of living "somewhere in nowhere." The text asks how a life can be built in such a place, how one can dream and look to the future when the past hangs like a veil over everything and the present is marked by exclusion, racism, and antisemitism. The strong family bond—at times perhaps too strong—means the child feels responsible for the parents throughout life and remains a child even when grown. The trauma weighs heavily and never lets go; fear becomes a constant companion. And yet the child survives and continues to dream.