Yael Bartana, What if Women Ruled the World?

On April 12, Volksbühne presents Yael Bartana’s What if Women Ruled the World? for the first time in Germany. The end of the world is drawing near, it's two minutes to midnight. In the cabinet of a country with a pacifist constitution and a state disarmament programme, the president and her ministers face a dilemma. Another country is breaking a joint international agreement by announcing an increase in its nuclear stockpiles. Will they abandon their one-sided disarmament or continue with their original plan?

Inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s satire Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), Yael Bartana brings actresses together with a diverse cast of female scientists and activists for every performance. Intertwining fiction and serious political experiment, together they attempt to solve pressing global problems and keep the Doomsday Clock from reaching midnight.

In her film, installations, photographs and theatre projects, Yael Bartana (born 1970 in Kfar Yehezkel, Israel, lives in Berlin and Amsterdam) questions national and historical narratives. By simulating certain situations and combining fiction and reality in different ways, she offers counter stories and fosters real change.

Participating experts include: Syrian activist and journalist Ameenah A. Sawwan, DaMigra (an umbrella organisation for work with marginalised migrants) Director Virginia Wangare Greiner (Frankfurt), political scientist and journalist Kübra Gümüsay (Berlin), nuclear weapon expert Dr. Beyza Unal (London), researcher at the Peace Research Institut Frankfurt Carmen Wunderlich, change.org Vice-President Paula Peters (Berlin) and Royal Danish Defence College Professor Dr Carina Meyn.
Actresses: Alix Wilton Regan, Anne Tismer, Noa Bodner, Olwen Fouéré and Jo Martin.
Moderators: Antje Stahl and Anat Saragusti.

What if Women Ruled the World?
Premiere on Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 7:30pm
Further performances on April 13 and 14, followed by a conversation with Yael Bartana on April 14
Volksbühne Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, main stage
In English

A co-production by Volksbühne Berlin, Manchester International Festival and Aarhus / 2017 European Capital of Culture.