Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Adam and Eve, The Simpsons, The Prince of Bel Air, The Kelly Family, Rosanne, Charlie and Louise - stereotypical ideas of family are often solidified through (pop)-cultural representations. Although it seems extremely obvious that kinship and close, intimate, kinship-like relationships work apart from physiognomic similarities, non-white, as well as queer, people repeatedly experience how this connection is denied to them. 

 

"YO BRO" challenges common, normative representations of family by playfully addressing and distorting them. In this work, choreographer, performer and theater artist Joana Tischkau, together with her twin brother Aljoscha Tischkau, who works as a social pedagogue, explores cultural and art historical representations of kinship. By means of the performative potential of their bodies, they create images of similarity and difference and thus retell family history(s).

Their chosen diverse on stage family consists of eight amateur performers, who are recasted with every guest appearance. So new "family bonds" are established in different cities drawing the actual family of the amateur performers into the theater space and inviting new communities into the theater audience.

​

​

​

COSTUME DESIGN Nadine Bakota 

DIRECTION Joana Tischkau

PERFORMANCE Joana und Aljoscha Tischkau

STAGE Carlo Siegfried

SOUND DESIGN Frieder Blume

DRAMATURGY Elisabeth Hampe

ARTISTIC COOPERATION Nuray Demir

VIDEO ANIMATION Sondi

LIGHT DESIGN Hendrik Borowski

DIRECTOR ASSISTANT Laura-Marie Preßmar

COSTUME ASSISTANCE Katharina Kraatz

STAGE ASSISTANCE Ina Trenk

PRODUCTION Lisa Gehring

​

Photo Credits: (c) Maria Röttger

​

​