Intensive Theater Workshop "Voice Message from the War

"Voice Message from the War" is a documentary theater and research project by the Düsseldorf theater ensemble Düsseldrama. Based on audio interviews, biographical fragments, original texts, and artistic responses, an audio performance with young queer Ukrainians about everyday life, war, community, and self-assertion will be created as part of an intensive theater workshop. The performances are scheduled to be presented at the Haus der Jugend in Düsseldorf at the end of September. For the project, the Düsseldrama team traveled to Ukraine in July 2026 and conducted interviews with young queer Ukrainians in Lviv and Kyiv. They talk about everyday life, friendship, love, community, uncertainty, war, hope, and self-assertion. These voices now meet in Düsseldorf with the experiences of queer people between the ages of 16 and 27 with Ukrainian connections: with memories, languages, sounds, questions, and life in a new place. Together with director Marvin Wittiber and his team, the participants will develop a documentary audio performance from interviews, original texts, sounds, and scenic material. The goal is not to be able to play theater perfectly. It's about listening, trying things out, remembering, responding – and finding a form together for what often remains unspoken. What does a voice from afar sound like? What sounds belong to an everyday life that continues despite the war? And what emerges when listening becomes a response?