Who is afraid of the white man?

Helvetzide are deaths due to systematic violence against racialized people in police custody, on the street, in the hospitals and in refugee camps in Switzerland. Who is afraid of the white man? addresses exactly this systematic violence.

The performance also deals with different ways of dealing with this reality within the Black community. The production calls out this racist brutal reality and searches for constructive ways to deal with it. The result is a 90-minute performance that poses questions about the consequences of racist violence and how to overcome them in a healing way. The question of unity, i.e. a strengthening union, is at the center.

Memorial

With: Luisa Wolf, Clovis Kasanda, Ouelego Téné, Moubarak Djibril.

Flyer

Premiere: 04.11.2022 20:00 Schlachthaus Theater Bern with After-Party

More performances:

Schlachthaus

The production Who's afraid of the white man? is based on a true incident, it started with a collective research project and culminates in a performative, interdisciplinary evening. The building of a Black community is one of the central aspects of this performance. Thus this production, seen in a theatrical context, moves in a collaboration of Black artists that has never been seen before in Switzerland. It sets a sign of self-determined Black modes of representation. This setting breaks with the traditional, racist demand of white people for Black entertainment, in which Black persons were instrumentalized, racialized and stereotyped under duress. The play is a cry. A cry out because of all the pain and trauma. And a cry for freedom.

Because, Black people are forced into entertainment, from the times of enslavement and colonization when we were forced to sing and dance and put in human zoos to entertain the public, to the present where we are stripped and even killed by police officers in front of cameras.

Who's afraid of the white man? is about bringing people together so that they not only spend the evening together, but are also encouraged to act, reflect and self-reflect.

Over and over again Black lives come to a violent end in Switzerland - in refugee centers, in police custody, in prisons, in hospitals, in the streets, in railway stations and as a result of police shootings, with cameras recording Black bodies for public scrutiny and consumption. These targeted deaths of marginalized communities, in particular Black people in the context of policing, are related to systemic racism. All they want is freedom of movement and safety. But neither of them is guaranteed, and on top of that they are forced to entertain. Over and over again. That is what it means to survive. As they are alive and coming together, they reflect collectively and build relationships. This is not just a performance. It is planting seeds of collective care. They support each other.

It may have never happened to you, but police brutality exists. 

Should I stop, is it too much for you people if I keep talking about police brutality? 

Talking about police brutality, hearing about it, may be unpleasant, but believe me, it is much less unpleasant than experiencing it. 

Good evening, please show your ID.

You are born in Switzerland. Switzerland gives you an F-card for your birthday. F for Fuck. This Fuck ID can be withdrawn from you anywhere and at any time.

We can't breathe like this.
We breathe together.
We can breathe like this.

We work in hospitals
In the mountains and valleys
In nursing homes and factories
Neighborhoods and districts
We give our life
In supermarkets and shops
our sweat, our tears
our valleys of knowledge

We know, we know
you know, you know

We honor the spirits, in the sea, in the oceans
Atlantic, our ancestors

Memorial-Stickers

Dear Mo, a short message to say that the play has left a big impression on me. What a collective achievement to capture so well what it means to live with structural racism! And achieving to do this without portraying those concerned becoming poor victims. We saw on stage people affected, but who were full of life. I didn't expect to laugh in a play about police violence but a couple of black people next to me laughed at moments so hard it was contagious. At other moments I felt like dancing. But most of all I would like to thank you for making it tangible what it means to live with the constant threat of being humiliated and hurt (yourself or loved ones). It was the first time since the book of Ta-Nehisi Coates that I could understand this at an emotional, visceral level.

It was a very great, impressive piece. I was very moved by it, thank you very much! It was mega heavy, but also beautiful. I found the balance between heavy and light very exciting and made the stark content digestible. I thought the setup and switching back and forth between scenes was cool too. The dances were great! The one at the end with the different inputs of the actress and in addition always "i dem Land" I found mega powerful! Thank you for all your work and congratulations.

Dear Mo, yesterday's play was incredibly beautiful and touching! It is still difficult for me to find the right words. It went under the skin, it was heavy and also depressing, that's exactly how it should be. I found it mega exciting and fascinating how the actors managed to blur the boundaries between reality and acting for the audience. It was a great performance of the whole team. You could feel how much sweat, thought, energy and motivation went into this project. Thank you for this real work of art! I am still processing... so powerful!!!❤️

Dear Mo, the piece was very, very strong, I was totally moved. The conversation afterwards was also very nice. It did me good, it was strengthening.

Dear Mo! I was at the performance yesterday, it was very nice! But the moment of the main rehearsal 1 on Wednesday evening, that magic when everything "came together", that will forever remain my highlight!!! What was great was how many people stayed for the audience talk - almost a full house! Monalisa did a great, and Joelle, Moubi and Ruth were very good.

Gotta congratulate Mo and the team for a fantastic job. Disturbing, powerful but also a celebration. Couldn't have chosen better actors.

congratulations on the piece. It was mega strong!

So proud of you all for all your vision and persistence. Well done!

I ♥️ you guys!!! so grateful for this experience.

The title of the play is an inversion of the name of the racist children's play "Who's afraid of the Black man?" It is about racialized police violence in Switzerland, about deaths of black people in police custody or in refugee centers.

RaBe Interview

With "Who's Afraid of the White Man?" the Schlachthaustheater brings experiences of racism to the stage. And breaks new ground in the process. «Wer hat Angst vorm weissen Mann?» is a unique piece in many respects: it is developed and performed as a collective, by a team of almost exclusively black artists. The production is accompanied by an awareness person who stands outside the process and catches what normally does not find a place in productions; namely space to discuss personal issues that want to come up in connection with the development. And the play is also unique in that a total of seven languages are heard on stage.

NEWS

A good example of how the Living Room can work is Mo's play "Who's Afraid of the White Man?", which will be performed at the Schlachthaus in November. He found the cast of the all-Black crew largely through his extended living room on Moserstrasse. "One Friday I was sitting in the Anticafé and saw a person peering curiously in through the window. I invited her in, she turned out to be an assistant director at Bühnen Bern - now she'll be doing the dramaturgy in my play."

NEWS

Times: May 28 - May 30, 2023
at 20:00-21:30 hrs.
Venue: Theater am Gleis Winterthur

More