AND NOW HANAU

On February 19, 2020, a racist murdered nine people in Hanau: Fatih Saraçoğlu, Gökhan Gültekin, Hamza Kurtović, Kaloyan Velkov, Mercedes Kierpacz, Said Nesar Hashemi, Sedat Gürbüz, Vili Viorel Păun, and one other victim.Tuğsal Moğul, a playwright, director, actor, and doctor born in 1969 in Neubeckum, Westphalia, explores the effects of racially motivated violence in Germany in his works. In his latest research project, he explores the Hanau attack through the medium of theater.

In his play, Moğul gives voice to the victims’ perspectives and examines the many mistakes made before, during, and after the attack by the police, the public prosecutor’s office, politicians, and the media: The attacker was already known to the police as a right-wing extremist. Why wasn’t he monitored more closely? Why was the 110 emergency number unreachable on the night of the attack? Why was the emergency exit at the Arena Bar locked? How is it possible that SEK officers at the scene were later exposed as right-wing extremists? In close collaboration with theInitiative 19 February Hanau, Moğul calls for accountability and demands a thorough investigation so that we can do justice to the victims and their families and honor their memory.

In the case of the NSU murders, there was a trial at the Munich Higher Regional Court. The perpetrator of the Hanau attack evaded trial and sentencing by taking his own life; there will be no judicial reckoning. Tuğsal Moğuldoes not address the murders in a conventional theater space, but rather deliberately chooses public venues at the heart of urban society: the town hall in Recklinghausen, the town hall ballroom, and the regional court in Münster.

A co-production with the Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen and the Theater Oberhausen.

Co-organizer for the performances at the Regional Court: President of the Münster Regional Court