Language Lab Babylon
A Preenactment
What would a world be like in which languages were developed by private companies? Taking the contemporary commodification of public services as its starting point, Language Lab Babylon (Sprachlabor Babylon) researches the future scenario of a privatisation of language. The performers ‘preenact’ and develop, together with the audience, possible language products of tomorrow, and examine their consequences on our daily life.
Comfian, Newcritician, Luxurygerman, Highpoetian and Savergerman are some of the language products that can be beamed directly into the speech centre of your brain from your mobile telephone using blue-wave – all available no later than the year 2030. The approaching language economy marks the beginning of a new, post-national age: languages are no longer bound to their place of origin and national territories dissolve. The language products of the ‘German Company’ are available worldwide and compete with products from the ‘Spanish Company’, ‘Punjabi Company’, ‘Swahili Company’, ‘Chinese Company’ and many more. In order to broaden the palette of choice, accents and dialects are in demand for developing niche products. As a test subject for the ‘German Company’, the Sprachlabor Babylon (Language Lab Babylon) audience encounters a possible future working environment. Do the language products stand the global stress test? Can you think better with the latest languages? Will there be conflicts between saver-speakers and the vocabulary-rich? Are you still performing or are you preenacting already?
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Credits
Devised and Performed by, Till Müller-Klug, Nina Tecklenburg, Martin Schick Music and Sound Friedrich Greiling Dramaturgy Kaja Jakstat Lighting and Set Design Dirk Lutz Costumes Josephín Thomas Soundtechnical Advice Georg Werner Production Marc Pohl Interns Katharina Beitz, Mara Niese Video Documentation Gernot Wöltjen Special thanks to Peggy Mädler Photos Michael Bennett, Renata Chueire, Nina Tecklenburg
Premiere: November 2012 Sophiensæle Berlin.
A co-production with SOPHIENSÆLE. Funded by the Doppelpass Fund of the German Federal Cultural Foundation and by the Mayor’s Office of Berlin – Senate Chancellery – Cultural Opportunities. Special thanks to our media partner taz.die tageszeitung.