Obwohl ich Dich kenne

In this piece examining friendship, four Navigators tell of self-imposed forced relationships and amicable conspiracies. Accompanied by violin and piano, they stick their fingers in the wounds of time with irony, humour and an eye for life’s minor catastrophes.

Obwohl ich Dich kenne

Intelligent enemies and better halves

 

What happens when individuals who are striving for a common cause involuntarily fall foul of one another? Does friendship depend upon a common purpose, and what happens when there is nothing more left to do? What rules of the game are appropriate to what purpose? Is it hypocritical to be friendly without love? Is one better off with an intelligent enemy than with a stupid friend? Who do we remember at the end of the day? 

 

In Obwohl ich Dich kenne (Event Though I Know you), NICO AND THE NAVIGATORS defiantly, and with an eye to minor catastprophes, stick their fingers in the wounds of time, tell of conspiracies in friendship and self-imposed forced relationships. In a dialogue with violin and keyboard they unremittingly seek to awaken and keep alive the interests of others. 

 

 “… What I find good about you is that the people you like lose their scepticism towards me and say nice things about me behind my back.  Until your final days I will cherish you, my intelligent adversary, more than a stupid friend…”

 

For Event Though I Know you the ensemble’s research included the exchange of letters between the friends Schiller and Goethe; Wagner and Nietzsche; and Hermann Hesse and Thomas Mann. Monolithic chunks of quotation intermingle with the Navigators’ idiosyncratic muddling of language and improvisations. Brought into the discourse are definitions and concepts of friendship straddling all epochs through to the globalised 21st century. 

 

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Press reviews

Hartmut Krug / Deutschlandradio

…A big little show of 70 minutes duration. Entertaining and poetic. The crowd was very pleased…

Hartmut Krug / Deutschlandradio

Two men plunge enthusiastically onto the stage. One on his stomach on a board on rollers [skateboard ?], while the other leaps about him, at times offering a helping hand to stabilise or increase momentum, at others seeming to hunt him down: Until the passionate collaboration comes to terrible end. The hand that brings them together in common action, forms their relationship, is all of a sudden deliberately withdrawn, and the man on rollers crashes to the floor. This wordless image, the emphasis on movement, indicate from the first what the new work from the independent company Nico and the Navigators is all about, namely the issues of self-representation and a quest for connection - ever new associative scenarios are presented and played out. As always we become no linear storytelling from this troupe grounded in the visual arts, but a freewheeling theatre of pictures in motion composed of artistry, music, few words, and some deeper significance. A playground for friendship and enmity Four actors and two dual-purpose accompanying musicians demonstrate how people can represent themselves as they pose and position themselves relative to one another, and how in doing so always observe both themselves and the other. The stage: Non-representative, a playground. Walls of cardboard, moveable and flexible. Oliver Proske’s ingeniously simple and sensual staging interacts with the performers, makes room or constrains, provides little hiding-place-towers for purposes of self-imposed isolation or covert observation, creating abundant opportunity for convergence, turning away and theatrical-emotional presentation of character. Reading the program notes to "Even if I Know You. Intelligent enemies and better halves - a play about friendship" one is made cognisant of texts by or references to literary friendships and enmities: principally Wagner and Nietzsche (wherefore two men, this is one for the deep psychologists, sport on occasion, one carrying a ladies’ handbag, skirts over their trousers); also Schiller and Goethe; and Hesse and Thomas Mann. Though this, like the spoken word be it German, French or Swiss, is as, not of great essence to this scenic collage. Between Affection and Aversion and Abandonment Sayings and quotations are but hooks in a theatre of allusion and clarification. "We liked each other, even though we knew each other"; and "I can never believe you, for you always tell the truth"; or "You were busy with the world, me with myself." Still, it is more in the physical presentation, the bodily to and fro, the struggle with affection and aversion and abandonment, the with or against, than with the spoken message that the power lies. What we see is easy to understand, if not always immediately and fully. It is fascinating in its mix of musicality, artistry and elegance. Thanks to Nicola Hümpel’s direction the performance stimulates, cheers and grabs the audience by means of this fluid, outrageous, associative-poetic trafficbetween lucidity and uncertainty. Diverse projections of self, and variations upon same, are represented theatrically. The performances are proof of and justification of one’s existing, leading then to conflict or disaster, and from friendly, unquestioning accord to (slow motion) punch-ups. Each persistently pushes himself to the fore – each is after all an artist - obliged to represent himself relative to the other. The Poetry of Comedy Pulled from under a large cloth, in timeless clothing, historic theatre performances are staged. Marvellous how, to music from Carmen, Miyoko Urayama, like a bullfighter, wittily and ironically presents herself and her body to the men; wonderfully casual, how Adrian Gillott as a self-interested Englishman, album chock-full of business-cards, seeks ever anew to introduce himself; and delightful, how the couples of friends, played by Martin Clausen and Oliver Zgorelec, variously at, under and atop a table, awkwardly come together. At first they dare not, one hiding under the table, but then, in a verbal cloud of mutual encouragement, they join in song. Such a relaxed coalition of comedy and deeper significance is to be found time and again in the poetic imagary. Sabine Akiko Ahrendt and Thomas Bloch Bonhoff, with violin, accordion and keyboards, by their sound cause the show to be a small-scale, musical-theatrical, total work of art. The evening is a theatrical revelation, with actors who are dancers, who are comedians, who are movement artists, but not “serious performers”. They exemplify people who in various contexts present themselves to others to exhibit how they are, wish to appear or want to be. A big little show of 70 minutes duration. Entertaining and poetic. The crowd was very pleased.

Massimo Marino / Corriere della Sera Bologna

..existential cabaret, which smiles speechless…

Massimo Marino / Corriere della Sera Bologna

Like in a merry-go-round, Nico and the Navigators dance the harmonies and dissonances of friendship with ironically alienated and sharp German distance. Three men and one woman, one Italian, one German, one British and one Japanese. A barefoot violinist with a long skirt and long hair lulls us into Nordic-like dance rhythms reminiscent of Stravinsky. A young man accompanies her with electronic and acoustic piano sounds. "Although I Know You" could be a modern version of Schnitzler's "Reigen" as adapted for film by Ophüls. The play and film were about successive love connections of lifelike characters; here they are entanglements of friendships in which human figures dissolve in the echoes of feelings, hurts and hidden thoughts. This echo resounds in the interstices of a friendship relationship that, by definition, commits to nothing, yet radically drags everyone along with it. In the disjointed dialogues that ignite in the dance - the circling in a carriage, the undressing under a cloth, the surprising appearance of a woman handing out white calling cards (and dancing quite "ordinarily" without artificial mastery) - one recognizes quotations from famous correspondences, for example between Goethe and Schiller, Nietzsche and Wagner, Hesse and Mann, and from other waters of German literature rich in such plankton. At moments, it seems as if in the apparently unfinished exchanges, in the desperate search for a presence, one comes across the fragile actors from Éric Rohmer's films. The stage design is in brown: A wall encloses these little stories, these questions into a void as we all know it, this irony that, not to offend, is dressed in the garb of a traveler from centuries past, similar to the skirts of old that we wear in our nostalgic days. Basically, we are caught in the old vicious circle that the baroque theater already told: Helena loves Demetrius, who loves Hermia, who loves him back but is loved by Lysander. Here the protagonists have no names: They are called A, B, C, D and the feeling in this play is a hypocritical, disappointing, surprising, pretending and treacherous friendship full of ulterior motives. "I will never trust you because you always tell the truth." Sentences, fragments of feelings. Unexpected actions, mock battles, abandoned characters, sudden appearance of violins on a wall that begins to live, splits and closes again. We are in an existential cabaret that smiles speechlessly and carries European air to Bologna. Thanks to the Teatri di Vita: it proves, even in times of tight budgets, to be a space where cinema, theater, music and thoughts question us about our own turmoil.

Nürnberger Nachrichten

…Closed enthusiasm prevails after the performance of “Nico & the Navigators”. In the Redoutensaal there is much applause for this tempo and image-rich piece…

Nürnberger Nachrichten

ERLANGEN - Four people vie for each other's favor. Sometimes tender, sometimes aggressive. "Although I know you" - the title of the new play by Nico and the Navigators in Erlangen hints at how complicated togetherness can be. "A likes B, but B doesn't want to know anything about it. Maybe A should have gone away with D after all." On a simple but variable stage, a quartet accompanied by two musicians deals with interpersonal problems sometimes with poetic images, sometimes eloquently. The texts are taken from correspondence between the pairs of friends Schiller and Goethe, Wagner and Nietzsche, Thomas Mann and Hermann Hesse. Sometimes, however, there is also wonderful improvisation, for example when the struggle to find the right words is portrayed. Finally, the multilingual team almost ends up in poltesque cabaret. Despite the zapping between the forms of presentation, however, this entertaining, fast-paced piece is miles away from being arbitrary! ...Closed enthusiasm prevails after the performance of "Nico & the Navigators". In the Redoutensaal there is a lot of applause for this tempo- and image-rich piece...

Ulrike Borowczyk / Berliner Morgenpost

…Closed enthusiasm prevails after the performance of “Nico & the Navigators”. In the Redoutensaal there is much applause for this tempo and image-rich piece…

Ulrike Borowczyk / Berliner Morgenpost

Just a moment ago, the two men were chasing each other around the playing surface on a roller board, laughing happily, until one of them refused to back the other up. Now they remain statuesque under a cloth and let themselves be looked at by a distinguished Englishman. - He compares them to a Henry Moore sculpture, but still wants to force his business cards on them. He is interrupted by a dancing Asian woman: The three men stare at her in consternation at first, until one of them faints. Meanwhile, the Englishman slips his card to the enchanting beauty. Approaches, but also rejections can be funny, painful, imaginative and touching. In the production "Although I Know You" at the Sophiensälen, the ensemble Nico and the Navigators, directed by Nicola Hümpel, explore many forms of friendship and enmity. The flexible, quickly changeable stage design made of pressed cardboard by Oliver Proske gives the four actors the possibility to create different spaces according to their needs. Martin Clausen, Adrian Gillott, Alberto Spagone and Miyoko Urayama repeatedly quote Nietzsche, Wagner, Goethe and Schiller in a wide variety of languages. The spoken word, however, is far less important than the artists' dialogue with the music that guides their movements. Violinist Sabine Akiko Ahrendt and Thomas Bloch-Bonhoff on the keyboard are part of the action with their delicate, bizarre, stirring sounds. One does not always understand what is happening on the playing surface. But the changing images of the poetic-musical movement theater appeal to all senses and fascinate until the last second.

Claudia Provvedini / Corriere della Sera

…’Although I know you’ focuses on the difficulties of friendship and the suffering it costs to maintain it. Something very subtle and profound connects our tentative togetherness, up to the problem of making a superficial acquaintance …

Claudia Provvedini / Corriere della Sera

...Nico and the Navigators', an award-winning Berlin group (Family Council 2004) shows how body language - much better than spoken - can transmit feelings and thoughts. 'Although I Know You' focuses on the difficulties of friendship and the suffering it takes to maintain it. Something very subtle and profound connects our tentative togetherness, to the problem of making a superficial acquaintance.... The Japanese actress, who dances like a dragonfly from one navigator to the next, throwing candies to the audience, represents the most cheerful of the four characters, but also the others are at some points extremely exhilarating when they ironically deconstruct the attitudes and dialects of their respective hometowns, Berlin and London. Bitter cabaret, an effective fusion of physical ability and acting presence....

Patrick Merle / La Provence

…A fine and clever collage by an ambitious young collective… An evening of grace…

Patrick Merle / La Provence

Behind Nico and the Navigators is first and foremost Nicola Hümpel, who, as her name does not necessarily suggest, is a woman. The German director studied in Hamburg, Berlin and then at the famous Bauhaus in Dessau before founding her own company 10 years ago with her partner and partner in crime, set designer Oliver Proske. Previously present only in the north of France, her work could now be discovered in the south on Friday night, thanks to the Festival De Marseille, which co-produced this latest piece " Although I know you ". Even if the Theatre Nono, with its too noisy seating, did not offer an ideal setting for this guest performance, one could discover a purist theatrical form, yet full of life and meaning. An evening of grace marked by the presence of the four comic performers: the lyrical Martin Clausen, the "so British" Adrian Gillott, the eccentric Yui Kawaguchi and the feline Swiss acrobat Oliver Zgorelec. At their side, violinist Sabine Akiko Ahrendt and pianist Thomas Bloch Bonhoff gave the musical rhythm to this variation on friendship, its bonds and fragilities. Based on improvisations as well as on letter fragments between Schiller and Goethe or Wagner and Nietzsche, Nicola Hümpel masterfully delivered a friendly version of the "Carte du Tendre" (Map of Love from the novel Clélie by Mme Scudéry). A fine and clever collage by an ambitious young collective that we would like to see again as soon as possible.

Susann Oberacker / Hamburger Morgenpost

…A small, fine, very human piece….

Susann Oberacker / Hamburger Morgenpost

Coherent musical theater by "Nico And The Navigators A likes B, but B doesn't want to know about it. Maybe A should have gone away with D after all." "Although I Know You" by "Nico And The Navigators" is about the complicated world of interpersonal relationships. The Berlin group's music theater performance premiered at Kampnagel and was enthusiastically received by the audience. Ten years ago, director Nicola Hümpel and set designer Oliver Proske founded the ensemble of actors, dancers, visual artists and musicians. Three years ago, in "Cain, If & But," they asked how humans make decisions. This time, too, the focus is on people - namely the I in interaction with the You. One woman and three men fight for attention in Oliver Proske's variable box. There is dancing and gymnastics, speeches and compliments. The quartet, Miyoko Urayama, Martin Clausen, Adrian Gillott and Oliver Zgorelec, enter the ring with great physical effort and concentration. Look here, their figures shout, perceive me! The music by Sabine Akiko Ahrendt (violin) and Thomas Bloch-Bonhoff (keyboard) accompanies the four on their ego trips - tenderly enveloping or violently attacking, as melody or as soundscape. The texts are taken from correspondence between the pairs of friends Schiller and Goethe, Wagner and Nietzsche, Thomas Mann and Hermann Hesse. A small, fine, very human piece.

Klaus Witzeling / Hamburger Abendblatt

…In their typically visual expressive and atmospheric sound language, the director and spatial designer allow situational images to emerge that the viewer can assemble into a mental cinema involving friendly conspiracies and self-selected coercive relationships….

Klaus Witzeling / Hamburger Abendblatt

Premieres: Music theater with Nico and the Navigators on March 6 and "Brickland" by Constanza Macras and her ensemble Dorky Park on March 12 at Kampnagel By Klaus Witzeling ...Nico and the Navigators, on the other hand, strike quieter and more tender tones in their music theater "Although I Know You": For director Nicola Hümpel, set designer Oliver Proske and musician Frauke Ritter, love and friendship between people still seem possible. The group also comes from Berlin, Hümpel and Proske know each other from Hamburg from their studies at the HfbK. In 1998 Hümpel founded Nico and the Navigators at the Bauhaus Dessau and experiments with the artist collective on the borders of visual and performing arts. Two years ago they gave a guest performance at Kampnagel with "Kain wenn und aber," an installation with text and music, and in 2009 they worked on a major music theater project for the Handel Festival in Halle. For the world premiere of "Although I Know You," she and Proske are designing a poetic image and music theater in which spaces of thought and association open up to the audience. In the actors' dialogue with violin and piano, they examine the rules of the two-way relationship. In their typically visual expressive and atmospheric sound language, the director and spatial designer allow situational images to emerge, which the viewer can assemble into a head cinema dealing with friendly conspiracies and self-chosen coercive relationships.

A production by NICO AND THE NAVIGATORS and KAMPNAGEL Hamburg. In coproduction with the International Figurentheater Festival of Erlangen, the Grand Theatre Groningen, Inteatrofestival Polverigi, and the Festival de Marseille. In cooperation with the Radialsystem, Berlin. Supported by Land Berlin, Fonds Darstellende Künste e.V. and Rusch Stiftung.

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