By Laura Andreß and Stefan Schweigert
Presented in German with English subtitles.
More than five years ago, the judgments in the NSU trial were pronounced. Important questions about the terrorist group and its supporters remain unanswered. Instead, the investigation into the racist murders committed by the National Socialist Underground (NSU) operating in Germany from 1998 onwards has been overshadowed by significant controversies: evidence hastily destroyed by authorities, a questionable network of informants within the far-right scene, and biased police investigations that even labeled the traumatized families of the victims as suspects.
Far less noticed was a piece of literature that allegedly served as a blueprint for the NSU and other neo-Nazis worldwide: "The Turner Diaries," written in 1978 by American Nazi William L. Pierce. Considered one of the most influential texts in the international far-right scene, the novel depicts an underground terrorist cell destabilizing the system through bombings and assassinations, sparking a worldwide white revolution. Copies of this dystopian novel were found on the computers of the NSU.
Playing Earl Turner brings together documentary material and fictional literature. Through the juxtaposition of NSU trial transcripts and scenes from The Turner Diaries, a disquieting scenario emerges that fundamentally questions the narrative of lone perpetrators. Using documentary images and sound, the performance creates an atmospherically dense experience that, much like its (r)eal inspirations, becomes a play of self-representation, transformation, and imitation, gradually revealing the strategies and ideologies of the perpetrators and the ideological program of an internationally networked far-right terror.
Part of Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival honoring Václav Havel, produced by the Václav Havel Center and the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association.
ABOUT THE 2024 REHEARSAL FOR TRUTH INTERNATIONAL THEATER FESTIVAL
Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival, honoring Václav Havel, is a showcase of contemporary European theater organized each year in New York City. Conceived in 2017 as a shared endeavor of the Václav Havel Center (VHC) and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA), the festival honors the legacy of Czech playwright, dissident and political thinker Vaclav Havel.
Each edition of Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival addresses current sociopolitical trends in Central and Eastern Europe, offering New York audiences a unique opportunity to witness the region’s theatrical zeitgeist.
The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.