Boris Nikitin
MAGDA TOFFLER. Versuch über das Schweigen
Boris Nikitin’s grandmother came from a Jewish family but kept this secret to herself until she died. Her grandson goes in search for the origins of silence. A captivatingly simple and direct monologue.
Central / D’haus
Language: German with English surtitles
10.6., 19:00 Introduction for blind and visually disabled persons in German with Sylvie Ebelt, audio descriptor, and Wilma Renfordt, Impulse Theater Festival. See here for detailed information or write to barrierefreiheit[a]impulsefestival.de.
After Magda Toffler died at the age of 87, Boris Nikitin discovered what she had experienced during the Second World War: she had to spend months hiding in a barn while most of her family were killed in a death camp. Sitting on an empty stage, he reads this story out loud, page by page. He tells of his efforts to understand why his grandmother had remained silent and how it is impossible to answer this question after her death.
‘MAGDA TOFFLER’ is a piece of genealogical research which is as much about grappling with one’s own identity as with the fatal consequences of failing to talk about the catastrophes of the 20th century.
“Nikitin’s evenings measure the distance between us, but also drill deep – and they are applied to personal lives to end up elsewhere.”
Sabine Leucht, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 15.11.2022
Credits ›
Direction, Text, Performance: Boris Nikitin
Production: Annett Hardegen
Outside Eyes: Matthias Meppelink, Annett Hardegen, Fabian Schmidtlein
Production ›
An It’s The Real Thing production in co-production with Steirischer Herbst 2022, Staatstheater Nürnberg, Kaserne Basel, Ringlokschuppen Ruhr, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Théâtre Vidy Lausanne, HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin, Frascati Amsterdam, Theater Chur and OMANUT – Forum for Jewish Art and Culture. With support from Swiss Cultural Foundation Pro Helvetia, the Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation and the expert panel on dance and theatre for the Cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft as part of the projects made possible by three-year funding.
The first version of this work was commissioned by OMANUT – Forum for Jewish Arts and Culture.
Biography ›
Boris Nikitin is a theatre director and author. His productions, texts and happenings have explored the representation and fabrication of identity and reality for over fifteen years. These works are well known for crossing boundaries between theatrical illusion and performance. At the same time, they constitute a continuous long-term exploration of propaganda in its various forms. “Like few others, Boris Nikitin pushes theatre to a critical point,” wrote the German professional journal Theater heute. Nikitin produces work independently with major international festivals (Ruhrtriennale, Wiener Festwochen) and in city and state theatres (Münchner Kammerspiele, Theater Basel, Staatstheater Nürnberg, Schauspiel Graz). His pieces have already been invited to the Impulse Festival four times. In 2017 Nikitin was awarded the J.M.R. Lenz Prize for Drama by the city of Jena for his body of work. In 2020 he was awarded the Swiss Theatre Prize. His play ‘Erste Staffel. 20 Jahre Big Brother’ was invited to the 2021 Mülheimer Theatertagen.