A place of safety

The ship »Sea-Watch 5« sails along one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes, in the central Mediterranean along the borders of Europe. On board, people work who have dedicated their lives to saving others. Between radio messages, medical care and nighttime emergency operations, one question constantly accompanies them in their daily lives: What does responsibility mean when providing help is possible, but never enough? During a five-week mission, they rescue 156 people in distress at sea and bring them to safety in the port of La Spezia.

The two Bologna-based theatre makers, Enrico Baraldi and Nicola Borghesi, were on board the ship and accompanied by their own questions, doubts and contradictions. Directed by Enrico Baraldi, Nicola Borghesi shares the stage with five people they met on board. They explore the borderline between law and reality, humanitarian aspiration and political practice. And they shine a light on a constantly suppressed dark spot in our continent’s collective consciousness: the humanitarian catastrophe in the Mediterranean – and what it reveals about what Europe claims to be, what it is not, and what it could become.

KEPLER-452 is an Italian theatre collective. Founded in Bologna in 2015, the group uses a wide variety of formats in its theatrical reportages to explore concrete experiences of social reality on stage. With their production »Il Capitale – un libro che ancora non abbiamo letto«, they presented themselves to a German audience for the first time at FIND 2024.

WITH: Nicola Borghesi, Flavio Catalano, Miguel Duarte, Giorgia Linardi, Floriana Pati, José Ricardo Peña
SET AND COSTUME DESIGN: Alberto Favretto
MUSIC: Massimo Carozzi
DRAMATURGY: Nicola Borghesi, Enrico Baraldi
LIGHTING DESIGN: Maria Domènech
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Roberta Gabriele
SOUND AND MUSIC: Massimo Carozzi
MOVEMENT CONSULTANT: Marta Ciappina
VIDEO PROJECT: Enrico Baraldi
DRAMATURGY CONSULTANT: Dario Salvetti