The stage production
Sunken City - Böll, Cologne and the Cathedral
An Electronic Concert Reading
with texts by Heinrich Böll
and projections of photographs by Chargesheimer
Ralf Werner
cello & sampler & live electronics
Martin M. Hahnemann
acting & recitation


The german actor Martin M. Hahnemann (Berlin) and musician Ralf Werner (Cologne) are offering a performance based upon a compilation of texts by Heinrich Böll.

The text fragments are located in Cologne, the home-town of the Nobel-prize-winner of 1972. They start with the melancholy of the post-war ruins, move to humorous and satirical scenes of the 1950s and 1960s and end up with experimental parts of Heinrich Böll´s late poetry. The focus is always on the timeless beauty his writing.

The word&music show includes moments of a music theatre play as well as a concert. Both voice and cello are amplified, samplers and electronical devices are added. The total result lies somewhere between new jazz and chamber music.

Projections of black&white photographs by Chargesheimer (a friend of Heinrich Böll and one of the best german photographers of his period) will produce an atmosphere true to the feeling of the texts.

"Sunken City - Böll, Cologne and the cathedral" contents texts from the following books:
"Youth on fire" (1937)
"The silent angel" (1951)
"And never said a word" (1953)
"Billiards at half past nine" (1959)
"Cologne III" (1971)
"Sunken City" (1984)

Conception, compilation of texts and photographs, composition: Ralf Werner
Premiere: March 3 1998 // Cologne(Germany)
Length: 75 minutes // no intermission
Recorded woman´s voice: Hille Marks


In 2000 DIE KULTURTECHNIKER were touring the USA with the support of Heinrich-Böll-Foundation (Washington Office), the Goethe-Instituts of Washington D.C. and New York City and the Skidmore Collage of Saratoga Springs.

The dates of the USA tour 2000
Wednesday October 25 6:30 p.m. Washington D.C./ Goethe Institute 814 Seventh Street
Saturday October 28 7:30 p.m. Saratoga Springs/ Skidmore College
Monday November 6 6:30 p.m. New York City/ Goethe Institute 1014 Fifth Avenue

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