Chapter 5 - Places along the Ruhr

Summary

Chapter 5 troubles the narrative on German culture further by situating the traditions of education and in the context of the migration of refugees into Germany from 2014 onwards. It analyses how this migration has prompted a profound recalibration of the role of artistic institutions, especially theatre. This chapter focuses on public theatres and the ways in which they have forged new civil society alliances addressing refugees and migration in inner-city environments. I argue that public city theatres in Germany are uniquely situated in the interstices of civil society, urban populations, and public authorities, allowing them to reposition concepts, policies, and practices engaging with migration on multiple scales. I show how theatres reframe local public policies while creating prefigurative political spaces and developing inclusive and critical visions of diversity and citizenship. This chapter focuses on the emergence of a refugee theatre collective, documenting the struggles of doing applied theatre with marginalised groups, but retaining an aesthetic approach to theatre, focusing on the rehearsal as a space and practice for ethico-aesthetic negotiation. This concluding chapter is thus also a case study in applied theatre work at the height of this German refugee ‘crisis’.