Page 198 [198]
OCR
ANNA LENZ metaphysical being beyond himself, discards "love thy neighbor" and instead sends him back where he comes from; and “violence” only exists in the King’s head and speech — he is always ready for violence that never eventuates. This topic is taken up by the aforementioned woman, the moderator of the layered text that, within the context of the performance, is difficult to decipher. It is of the utmost importance to read Jelinek’s plays as well as see them performed, since her texts require patience and need to be read and re-read to be truly appreciated for their complexity. They have an undeniable impact on stage, of course, but if Am Konigsweg is to be interpreted as a political play that aims to raise awareness of social wrongs, trivially speaking, it is rather helpful to have an interpreter of the intricate text appearing on stage. Enter a woman wearing a Louis Vuitton gold sequined tracksuit — wealth and “tackiness” align here. Idil Baydar as Jilet Ayse (Baydar’s habitual fictional character) is a fairly well-known German-Turkish comedian. In her attire and sociolect, she takes up social stereotypes of the Turkish immigrant minority. Her hair is put up in a half beehive, such as Elfriede Jelinek usually wears.” She therefore enters the stage as both the poet, who interprets her own work, and a voice that speaks as the deputy of a group that is hegemonically discriminated against. Her speech and behavior on stage mimic those of a stand-up comedian, which, of course, she is. This is emblematic for current times, since, increasingly, younger people especially seem to get their news from late-night stand-up and similar media formats rather than regular news reports. The play performs this shift to “politainment”” as well as bringing some “light” relief to the threeand-a-half-hour long theater night. What follows is an excerpt transcript of a stage appearance that rhetorically mimics a form of German stand-up comedy: Es sind neue da, das sind auch Migranten, aber die hatten einen viel langeren Weg als ich, ich sag ganz ehrlich. Mein Weg war kurz, der war genau so lang wie deiner [zeigt auf einen Zuschauenden in der ersten Reihe]. Gebärmutter, raus. Was kann man machen? Ja, ist überall Panik. Also ich bin auch Flüchtlingswelle und ich bin auch Nafri, nordafrikanischer Intensivtäter und — ähm —, aber was macht man jetzt? Alle haben Angst. Also, ich hab mir gedacht: Guck mal, ihr Deutschen, ihr macht Entwicklungshilfe auf der ganzen Welt. Überall helft ihr. Ihr seid sogar in Mali. Ich wusste nicht mal, was Mali ist. Und deshalb habe ich gedacht: Wer hilft eigentlich euch bei eurer Entwicklung? Wer macht eigentlich Entwicklungshilfe für euch? Niemand! Und deshalb bin ich hier. [Publikum lacht und klatscht] Wir machen das zusammen, wir schaffen das! Aber, ja... ok... aber was kann man ... Ich muss ja auch erstmal rausfinden... Die Sache ist so. Ich musste erstmal rausfinThis hairdo of course is not unique to Jelinek, and Baydar has performed with the same updo several times. In the context ofthe play however, the link is undeniable. Andreas Dörner: Politainment. Politik in der medialen Erlebnisgesellschaft, Frankfurt a. M., Suhrkamp, 2001. + 196 +
