What is the human being? Are they ‘good by nature’, as Jean-Jacques Rousseau once put it? ‘Knock Out’, a theatre play by and with 13 young inmates from the Wuppertal-Ronsdorf prison, answers these central questions. They work on their play over the course of three and a half months - behind closed walls: they write, improvise, invent choreographies, learn lines, repeat and rehearse. Each rehearsal begins with an hour of boxing training. This clears their heads for the complex theatre work. Boxing also conveys clear values such as fair co-operation, mutual respect and support during training.

In their theatre play, which the inmates perform in front of a public audience in the prison auditorium, they give an insight into their inner lives - into being a father and son, the pain of separation and the turning away in childhood and the ‘lost years’ during imprisonment.

‘At the end, 150 visitors rise to their feet in the packed cinema hall of the Ossendorf prison: the audience pays tribute to 13 young inmates from the Wuppertal-Ronsdorf prison for several minutes for an emotional guest appearance [...] This is preceded by 90 minutes of reflection on fears, courage, guilt, forgiveness and the longing for a self-determined life. [...] ‘What is man’ is a central question in the work, which highlights the sometimes buried striving for justice, brotherhood and equality.’ (translated from German, Original: Choices, Dec. 2021)

Applicant
Sommerblut e. V.

Location
Wuppertal and Cologne, Northrhine-Westphalia

Funding year / call
Neustart Kultur 2020-21: Networks + new interfaces

Topics
Empowerment, unusual co-operation, boxing, (toxic) masculinity, personality development

Cooperation partners:
JVA Wuppertal-Ronsdorf, JVA Köln, Evangelische Bergische Gefängnisgemeinde (EBGG) e. V.