ZAPFENSTREICH
The Power Of Posing

BOYS* IN SYNC is investigating a 300 year old German military tradition (the so called "ZAPFENSTREICH"), while posing the question: Democracy and (German) military — how do they fit together?

theatre, performance, dance/performance

SAT 12.10.2024
8:00pm — 9:00pm

Premiere

Frankfurt LAB, Halle 2 (F°LAB Festival)

www.boysinsync.com

Event link

Ticket needed

A performer is standing on a dark stage, his arms in front of him. He is wearing a green crop top. Another performer is standing in the background, gazing at him. He is wearing a blonde wig.

Information on accessibility

Wheelchair-accessible event room (No steps or thresholds higher than 5 cm, doors at least 90 cm wide, wheelchair-accessible toilet, etc.)

In 2021, Chancellor Angela Merkel retires from office. She is being honored by a grand military ceremony, broadcasted live. Although the socalled “Zapfenstreich” (tattoo) is a 300-year-old German military tradition, the images of German soldiers marching through the night while holding burning torches disturbs both German and international audiences: many associate the show with historical images of the Nazis. Despite the different context, the ceremony sparks a discussion: how should the (German) military present itself as part of a modern democracy? Three years later, the international group Boys* in Synch reenacts the TV broadcast: as performers and dancers from different European countries, they treat the military movements as choreographies that question masculinity, conformity, and power, blending them with moments of disruption, queerness, and intimacy.

By and with: Ragni Halle, Jay Tebogo Fiskerstrand, Gregers Hansen, Jakob Krog und Simon David Zeller

Technical support: Frithjof Gawenda

Music: Niko Ursin

Promoted by the Culture Department of the city of Frankfurt am Main and the Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. ZAPFENSTREICH is part of the Boys* in Sync project „Mother Europe“, supported by Statens Kunstfonds, Grenland Friteater, Kultursenter Fossekleiva and TOASTER/Husetsteater Kopenhagen.

Further dates:

  • SUN 13.10. | 6:30pm

    Frankfurt LAB, Halle 2 (F°LAB Festival)