«The largely meditative performance sublimely questions norms of observation and thus patterns of reception and representation.» (Jury, Berliner Theatertreffen, 2020)

The production «Die Kränkungen der Menschheit» creates a cycle of images. Pictures overlap one another in succession, creating a hybrid space among museum, zoo, and laboratory: a horde of monkeys populates the stage, ultimately gathering together around a strange man in a white lab coat to be fed as they do every day; a small museum group takes a wander through the museum of a fictitious European capital; a large group of people draws patterns in the room. The evening takes us to those fragile moments when one idea of the world is replaced by another. Inspired by Sigmund Freud’s notion of «Die Kränkungen der Menschheit» or «humiliations to humankind» which deals with loss of humankind’s supremacy, the production devotes itself to the even more fundamental question, who is, in fact, humanity? «Humiliations to humankind» is about the desire for showing, organizing, and understanding. It’s a piece about a society overtaken by its own past. (Text: Maxi Menja Lehmann, Anna Froelicher)

«Die Kränkungen der Menschheit» was named one of the ten best productions in the German-speaking world in 2020 and was invited to the theatre festivals in Berlin and Beijing as well as the radikal jung festival in Munich.

«Die Kränkungen der Menschheit» is a production by Anta Helena Recke with the Munich Kammerspiele. Co-produced with HAU Hebbel am Ufer Berlin, Kampnagel Hamburg and Mousonturm Frankfurt.

Supported by the Department of Culture of the City of Munich and the Performing Arts Fund Germany.

Programme booklet for «Die Kränkungen der Menschheit»