The theatre companies Hijinx and tanzbar_bremen have often met at festivals. They have watched each other's performances and sometimes invited them to their own festivals. The programme “Cultural Bridge” is now the first “real” collaboration between the two companies. The street performance ‘ENTER THE ROBOTS’, planned by Hijinx, became the basis for this joint project: a production by Hijinx, with tanzbar_bremen contributing to the choreography and dramaturgy. In addition to the artistic collaboration, the aim was to develop a performance in which artists could rehearse and perform together in different groups within a short period of time. The result was a joint performance that we performed ten times at two festivals. Even after the funding ended, the production could still be shown in Bremen. This was made possible by the festivals organised by Lebenshilfe Kunst und Kultur GmbH. The piece is now part of both companies' repertoire. The goal: to continue performing together and to show the piece regionally as well.

Conclusion in keywords: Confidence in exchange, getting to know each other and playing together. Fear of contact and language barriers can be overcome. This provides confidence. It is good to share experiences. Everyone pulls together. Looks. When language is not always understandable, other senses are used more. Laughter. Play. Team. Success!

(Corinna Mindt)

In their first collaboration, Hijinx Theatre (Cardiff, Wales) and tanzbar_bremen present ‘ENTER: Robots exchange’, a participatory and inclusive theatre piece that playfully explores the topics of AI and robots.

During one performance as part of the city festival ‘Alles muss raus!’ in Kaiserslautern (July 2024) and the BoulevART Festival in Wismar (August 2024), visitors become part of the piece and can control the robots - until they take over. The large-scale street theatre performance enables interactions between the citizens and the ‘robots’ through non-verbal communication.

"The Cultural Bridge funding will allow us to bring together learning disabled and neurodivergent artists from Wales and Germany to work together in the creation and presentation of a large-scale street theatre performance: ROBOTS. The project will facilitate a unique opportunity for exchange between our artists and organisations as they collaborate on the dramaturgy and choreography before performing together at two street theatre festivals in Germany. For some of the learning disabled and neurodivergent artists involved, this will be their first time travelling internationally, a vital opportunity for progression in both their professional aspirations and towards more independent lives."
Hijinx Theatre (Cardiff, Wales) and tanzbar-bremen e.V.

Funding programme
Cultural Bridge

Applicants
Hijinx Theatre & tanzbar_bremen e.V.

Locations
Cardiff/ Bremen/ Kaiserslautern/ Wismar

Funding year
Cultural Bridge 2024-25

Topics
Street performance, artistic exchange, interaction, social mirror, artificial intelligence, encounter through play

Project results and presentation 
Street performance ‘Enter the Robots’ with a total of 14 joint performances and over 50 participating artists

Websites
tanzbarbremen.de
hijinx.org.uk