Yesterday, Tomorrow: Voices from the Somali Diaspora

A staged reading of YESTERDAY, TOMORROW: VOICES FROM THE SOMALI DIASPORA by acclaimed author Nuruddin Farah, co-directed and conceptualized by Grada Kilomba and Amy Evans

The second LEBENSLINIEN (lifelines) edition focuses on Nuruddin Farah, acclaimed as one of Africa’s greatest contemporary writers and regarded as a likely candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Together with Nuruddin Farah, LEBENSLINIEN explores his biographical and literary paths in an exchange with friends and fellow-writers past and present.

For decades, instability, anarchy, and civil war have been driving Somalis out of their homeland. Farah, himself an exile for 25 years, gives these refugees a voice. This staged reading from his eponymous collection of essays traces the Somali diaspora’s diverse paths and fates in a globalized world. The individual stories and subtle portraits of the countries of exile create a moving image of life between different worlds.

Actors: Araba Walton and Michael Ojake

Concept and Direction: Grada Kilomba, Amy Evans

In her work, playwright Amy Evans critically examines the impact of displacement, alienation and political violence on the human spirit. She is currently developing a new play based on the true story of Oury Jalloh’s death in custody in Dessau, Germany.

Grada Kilomba’s literary works resemble remembered stories – stories of slavery, colonialism and everyday racism. She is the author of “Plantation Memories” (2008) and is currently writing her second novel “Kalunga” about the African diaspora and Orishas.

Wednesday, 2 December 2009 at 9:30 PM. Tickets available at http://www.hkw.de.