• 1

• Theatre + Artist Talk
• memory
• history
• recordings

• Mi., 10.06.2026, 19:00

ArtistTalk following 'MemoryDistortion.M I X T A P E'

Amid the static of cassette tapes and rediscovered voices, a polyphonic performance emerges about memory as a contested space. Afterwards there will be an Artist Talk.

• 1Photo ©Ramin Mazur. Who gets to decide what to record, what to keep and what to forget?

The teatru-spălătorie collective weaves together sound, history, and politics into a haunting collage about what remains – and what is erased. Individual biographies intertwine with fascism, war, migration, neoliberal transformation and exploitation. Memory appears not as a reliable archive, but as a contested space, marked by omissions, ideological frameworks and deliberate rewriting. Through musical loops, repetitions and breaks, past and present shift into one another. Gábor Thury, curator at HAU Hebbel am Ufer, will moderate the artist talk in Englisch.

About the venue

HAU Hebbel am Ufer

HAU Hebbel am Ufer, with its three venues HAU1, HAU2 und HAU3 and the digital stage HAU4 is a paragon of current artistic positions at the interface of theatre, dance and performance. In addition, music, visual art and theoretical debates are a constant component of the wide-ranging programme.

About the piece

Memory Distortion. M I X T A P E

The starting point for 'Memory Distortion. M I X T A P E' are audio tracks that were initially erased, recorded over, and rediscovered – cassettes containing voices and fragments – in which personal and political history overlap. From these traces, teatru-spălătorie develops a polyphonic, musical and performative collage about distorted memory, the political rewriting of history, and the question of what remains audible of the past. In the process, neo-colonial and power-political dynamics within Europe become visible. With the sharpness, humour and political urgency typical of the collective, an evening emerges exploring how memory becomes a battleground.

About the artists

Nicoleta Esinencu

Nicoleta Esinencu is a fighter. In her country, she practices the habit of speaking and thinking about things that have been heavily burdened by the course of history and are often met with silence rather than dialog. She tackles sensitive subjects such as the denial and discrimination of homosexuality and her country’s role in the attempted elimination of Jews.This may also be why her theatre collective Teatru-Spălătorie, which she founded in Moldava’s capital Chisinau in 2010, has on the one hand been described as a critical voice within her own country and on the other hand uses its pieces and public performances to draw attention to the people who represent the Republic of Moldava – and who all too often feel forgotten and betrayed by both European and their domestic politics.