publiXtheatrecaravan.mov

Soon after Haider’s Freedom Party joined the Austrian government in the year 2000, the VolxTheaterFavoriten theater group took its rebellious cultural program on a tour of the country; their intention was to spread a spirit of resistance. The following year the VolxTheaterKarawane joined the international protest aimed at the process of globalization. With a motto of ”noborder – nonation” the video of its journey through Europe treats the EU’s migration policy as one of exclusion. The most important weapon employed by this multinational troupe are artistic actions: For example a monument commemorating the fall of the Iron Curtain, which stands on the border between Hungary and the Burgenland (which has since been closed off again), was ”attacked”; at the WEF meeting in Salzburg uniformed actors brutally prodded their colleagues and a huge rubber monster. The public’s earthy reactions, such as ”Hitler would’ve known how to take care of you,” and a tabloid headline mentioning a ”cache of weapons” made it clear that, regardless of the humor involved, the issues are deadly serious. This is also made painfully clear by scenes from a Slovenian jail where the troupe suddenly hit the brick wall of reality. After the G8 summit in Genoa, some of the Caravan’s members were imprisoned on the basis of unfounded accusations for weeks on end and then deported.
Austria’s foreign minister at the time is also thanked for the criminalization of artistic protest from the street to the highest political level: Keep quiet or you’ll see where it gets you. Despite the repressive measures and gloomy circumstances depicted in this video, the fact that many people are still asking questions and articulating their opposition justifies a feeling of optimism.
(Thomas Korschil)

Translation: Steve Wilder