Successful premiere of "The Most Unsatisfied Town"!

Image © 2016 Roman Hagenbrock

The Most Unsatisfied Town by Amy Evans (Witnessed Edition 4) opened yesterday at the English Theatre Berlin | International Performing Arts Center - and it was a resounding success.

Click here to read a great review published on The Culture Trip.

Berlin | World Premiere of "The Most Unsatisfied Town" by Amy Evans

Image © 2016 English Theatre Berlin | International Performing Arts Centre

The world premiere of "The Most Unsatisfied Town" on Thursday, April 7th has already sold out!

Written by Witnessed author, Amy Evans, and directed by Daniel Brunet of English Theatre Berlin | International Performing Arts Centre, this play will run for a total of 14 performances throughout April 2016, including one school matinee performance on Wednesday, April 13th.This brilliant and important play is based on the true story of Oury Jalloh, who was killed in Dessau police custody on January 7, 2005, and the activists of the Initiative in Remembrance of Oury Jalloh, who spurred an international movement to bring his killers to justice. 

Image © 2005 Initiative in Gedenken an Oury Jalloh

Accompanying the performances of "The Most Unsatisfied Town" will be a lobby exhibition exploring Oury Jalloh, other deaths in police custody throughout Europe and related topics. The production also features a comprehensive schedule of post-performance discussions (April 8th, 14th & 21st) and a pre-performance panel discussion (April 10th):

Friday, April 8th | Post-Performance Discussion (in conjunction with Theater Scoutings Berlin)
• Mouctar Bah, Initiative in Remembrance of Oury Jalloh
• Moderation by Amy Evans, Playwright
• Simultaneous Interpretation (German-English) by Catherine Johnson

Sunday, April 10th | Pre-Performance Panel Discussion (4pm)
• Mai Shutta, Oranienplatz Activist
• Elizabeth Ngari, Women in Exile
• Dr. Sunny Omwenyeke, The Voice Refugee Forum Bremen / The Caravan
• Bino Byansi Byakuleka, Oranienplatz Activist and African Refugees Union
• Moderation by Sharon Dodua Otoo, RAA Berlin

Thursday, April 14th | Post-Performance Discussion
• Dr. Andrés Nader, Executive Director, RAA Berlin
• Moderation by Josephine Apraku, Institut für diskriminierungsfreie Bildung

Thursday, April 21st | Post-Performance Discussion
• Thomas Ndindah, Initiative in Remembrance of Oury Jalloh
• Moderation by Dr. Noa Ha, Migrationsrat Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.

"Since he arrived in Germany, Laurence has tried to do everything by the rules. He applied for asylum, waited patiently for his papers and found the kind of job no national would ever care to do. He is friendly to his neighbors, even the ones who tease his children in school, and cooperates with the police when they ask for his help. 

He's found the formula for survival, or so he things, until one day his friend Rahim mysteriously disappears. When the body turns up charred beyond recognition, Laurence is thrust to the fore of a civil rights movement and is forced to take a closer look at the town he was so ready to call home."

The Most Unsatisfied Town (Witnessed Edition 4)
Münster: edition assemblage
Amy Evans (2015)
Click here to order 

The Most Unsatisfied Town - premiere on April 7th in Berlin

The Most Unsatisfied Town
by Amy Evans
Directed by Daniel Brunet



Since he arrived in Germany, Laurence has tried to do everything by the rules. He applied for asylum, waited patiently for his papers and found the kind of job no national would ever care to do. He is friendly to his neighbors, even the ones who tease his children in school, and cooperates with the police when they ask for his help. He’s found the formula for survival, or so he thinks, until one day his friend Rahim mysteriously disappears. When the body turns up charred beyond recognition, Laurence is thrust to the fore of a civil rights movement and is forced to take a closer look at the town he was so ready to call home. 

The Most Unsatisfied Town is based on the true story of Oury Jalloh, who was killed in Dessau police custody on January 7, 2005, and the activists who spurred an international movement to bring his killers to justice.

The Most Unsatisfied Town will begin on Thursday, April 7th 2016 in Berlin.
This is the world premiere of the play which was first published in the Witnessed Series.

Amy Evans (2015)

The Most Unsatisfied Town (Witnessed Edition 4)

Münster: edition assemblage

Click here to order.

UK Reading of "Also By Mail" in December!

The play "Also By Mail" (the second publication of the Witnessed Series) will be presented in Luton by the author and playwright Olumide Popoola:

When?
Thursday, 5th December from 19.30

Where?
The Hat Factory, 65-67 Bute Street, Luton, LU1 2EY

Tickets are just £5 (concessions £3)

Full details available here.

Book Presentation of "Also By Mail" on Saturday, June 1st CANCELLED

Witnessed is sorry to announce that the reading planned for Saturday, June 1st has been cancelled.

We will hold a reading at  Aicy & Mimi's at another time in the very near future. Stay tuned!

"Also By Mail" by Olumide Popoola
Series: Witnessed Edition 2
Publisher: Edition Assemblage

Paperback, 142×205 mm
96 pages, 9.80 EUR [D]
ISBN 978-3-942885-38-6
Out now!

"Also By Mail" goes Homestory Deutschland!

The play "Also By Mail" by spoken word artist and author Olumide Popoola will be presented on Friday, March 29th in Hamburg as part of the Homestory Deutschland programme of events.

Homestory Deutschland is an exhibition of 27 portraits of Black people, including Black Germans, which collectively span 300 years of (Black) German history.

Olumide is one of the people portrayed in the exhibition and she will be present at the book presentation this Friday. Also participating in the reading are Moses Adekunle, Dela Gakpo, T. Vicky Germain, Noah Hofmann, Asad Schwarz-Msesilamba and Thabo Thindi.


Friday, March 29th 2013
20:00
Westwerk, Admiralitätstr. 74, 20459 Hamburg
Entrance: 3,00 €

Signed copies of the play will be on sale!

"Also By Mail" Book Presentation on Friday, March 1st

The second reading of "Also By Mail" will be in Berlin this Friday. It takes place as part of the Expat Expo programme of events organised by the English Theatre Berlin.

Special thanks to:
Moses Adekunle, Clementine Burnley, T.Vicky Germain, Noah Hofmann, Philipp Khabo Koepsell, Asad Schwarz-Msesilamba and Mirjam Nuenning for their support.

Friday, March 1st 2013
20:00
English Theatre Berlin, Fidicinstr. 40, Berlin-Kreuzberg
Entrance: 5,00 €

"Also By Mail" by Olumide Popoola
Series: Witnessed Edition 2
Publisher: Edition Assemblage

Paperback, 142×205 mm
96 pages, 9.80 EUR [D]
ISBN 978-3-942885-38-6
Out now!

Book Presentation "Also By Mail" in Frankfurt - a success!

From left: A. Schwarz-Msesilamba, S. D. Otoo, M. Nuenning, P. K. Koepsell, M. Adekunle and N. Hofmann
Image © 2013 ISD Frankfurt (Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland)

The premiere book presentation of "Also By Mail" by Olumide Popoola on Saturday, February 16th was a great success. Well attended (over 80 people) and well received, this was the second of the Black History Month 2013 series of events in Frankfurt, which opened on Saturday, February 2nd with a launch party in Circus.

For the entire BHM 2013 programme visit the ISD website.

Further book presentations are planned in Berlin (Friday, March 1st) and in Hamburg (Friday, March 29th). For more information watch this space!

Copies of the play may be purchased for 9,80 € from edition assemblage.

From left: A. Schwarz-Msesilamba, S. D. Otoo, M. Nuenning, P. K. Koepsell, N. Hofmann, M. Adekunle and T.V. Germain
Image © 2013 ISD Frankfurt (Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland)

"Also By Mail" Book Presentation on Saturday, 16th February

The second publication in the Witnessed series will be launched this month in Frankfurt!

"Also By Mail" is a modern family comedy-drama by author and poet Olumide Popoola. It follows the experiences of Nigerian German siblings Funke and Wale who fly to Nigeria to bury their suddenly deceased father. Their upbringing clashes with their uncle’s expectations and initial misunderstandings soon come to an éclat. When Wale returns to Germany, frustrated, he is bitterly reminded of how little his father acknowledged and prepared them for racist encounters there.

Loss and racism, sibling rivalry and cross-cultural etiquette, the play incorporates and subverses it’s urban, neo-African elements of story-telling to give a contemporary picture of a family that struggles not only with the legacy of its patriarch but with being racialized within the German context as well. Where does each stand in a circle of relations and needs? Where does each want to end up? And who is willing to help? It takes an inside-outside job to lighten the mood and the surprise startles them all.

The reading will take place as part of the Black History Month programme of events organised by ISD Frankfurt. The reading will be followed by a Spoken Word Performance by Philipp Khabo Koepsell.

Staged Reading: "Also By Mail"
with Moses Adekunle, Clementine Burnley, T.Vicky Germain, Noah Hofmann, Philipp Khabo Koepsell, Asad Schwarz-Msesilamba and Mirjam Nuenning

Saturday, February 16th 2013
20:00
Circus, Bleichstr. 46, Frankfurt am  Main

...

"Also By Mail" by Olumide Popoola
Series: Witnessed Edition 2
Publisher: Edition Assemblage

Paperback, 142×205 mm
96 pages, 9.80 EUR [D]
ISBN 978-3-942885-38-6
to be published 20th February 2013

Support "Also By Mail"!

We have almost 600,00 € and need to raise 800,00 € 
Have you donated yet?
hwww.ttp://www.startnext.de/also-by-mail 

"Also By Mail" on Startnext

Startnext - New Campaign!


Following the successful crowdfunding campaign for "The Little Book of Big Visions," we are now raising money for the second book in the Witnessed Series.

"Also By Mail" is the story of two AfroGerman sibiling who travel to Nigeria to attend their father's funeral. It is a theatre play written spoken word artist and author Olumide Popoola.

Please check out the Startnext website for more information about the project (in English and German) and please support it!

"Also By Mail" is due to appear in February 2013.

www.startnext.de/also-by-mail

Coming Soon! Witnessed Edition 2: "Also By Mail"

"Also By Mail" is a play by Olumide Popoola. It is due out in February 2013...watch this space!

Praise for Also by Mail

“Also by Mail is a pioneering play by the London-based Nigerian-German novelist, poet and playwright Olumide Popoola – poignantly and authentically representing the lives, the diversity, the struggles and aspirations of people in the Black diaspora, their quest for identity and justice.
Generation conflicts, the clash of cultures and language barriers are depicted with warmth and humor whereas racist experiences in Germany are resolutely and realistically conveyed, as well as results of determined resistance, not leading to reconciliation but at least to legal justice. Also by Mail is a powerful play, entertaining and thought-provoking. Having read it with joy, one wishes to see it performed on stage soon.”

Marion Kraft
Author of The African Continuum and African American Women Writers