Giacomo Veronesi
A Safe Space for Male Bodies (2022)
Performance
Giacomo Veronesi, A Safe Space for Male Bodies (2022), performance, photo: Clara Wildberger
Giacomo Veronesi, A Safe Space for Male Bodies (2022), performance, photo: Clara Wildberger
© Seppe Vancraywinkel
As distant as the Russian invasion of Ukraine may seem, the possibility of Europe becoming a theater of war has recently become more real than we ever feared—and with it the prospect of being called up. With his new work, the theater director and performing artist Giacomo Veronesi focuses on those who would be mobilized in wartime, namely young males fit for military service.
In his performance for the spaces of Neue Galerie Graz’s BRUSEUM, Veronesi collaborates with a group of men who have been trained in the Austrian military service, the Bundesheer, drawing upon his background in experimental theater and acting techniques. Creating a “safe space” in precarious times, he invites the audience to take a closer look at the shifting perception of the male, potentially militarized body in the context of an approaching war.
The performance challenges the images of heroism and masculinity associated with the military and explores the incomprehensible contradictions of young male bodies that might be trained, armed, and finally destroyed in the name of peace.
Giacomo Veronesi (1984, Milan, Italy) is a theater director, lecturer, and performance artist exploring experimental forms of theater and acting methods. He has been acting and creating performances at state theaters in the German-speaking world (Thalia Theater, Hamburg; Luzerner Theater; Schauspielhaus Zürich) as well as in the international independent scene, not only in theaters but often also in public spaces. Veronesi collaborates regularly with the Estonian directing duo Ene-Liis Semper and Tiit Ojasoo. He is currently conducting long-term research in collaboration with actors from all over the world to deal with the fundamental questions of theater in the context of acting training and theater workshops in cities such as Milan, Venice, Tel Aviv, and Tallinn.
8.10., 18:00, 19:30, 21:00
9.10., 18:00, 19:30, 21:00
BRUSEUM / Neue Galerie Graz
Neutorgasse 45 (historical entrance)
8010 Graz
♿ Venue accessible for wheelchairs
16/12 euros
With a ticket to the performance, you are cordially invited to visit the exhibition A War in the Distance at no additional cost on the same day (open until 22:00).
Education offer
Following the performance on 8.10.
Eat and Greet
In German
With Giacomo Veronesi, Sammy Van den Heuvel, Anita Kremm, Gábor Thury, and the performers
herbstbar at Feinkost Mild
Free of charge within the framework of the performance
Performers: Philipp Finsterer, Christoph Griesser, Selman Kličić, Gordan Kukić, Kenneth Constance Loe, Johannes Mayrhofer, Peter Roll, Marwin Strutz
Concept: Giacomo Veronesi, Sammy Van den Heuvel, Anita Kremm
Physical work: Giacomo Veronesi
Space: Sammy Van den Heuvel
Media design: Anita Kremm
Commissioned and produced by steirischer herbst ’22
With the kind support of Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Vienna