What is thinking?
What is thinking? was a theatre production by and with Exiles (Belgium). The foundation for What is thinking? by and with the Belgium-based actors Carly Wijs and Ryszard Turbiasz was the relationship between the philosophers Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger. Ryszard Turbiasz and Carly Wijs wrote the stage text based on the writing of Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger; including letters, biographies and diary notes.
Information
(Objekt ID 10259)| Object type | Production |
| Premiere | April 10, 2005 |
| Produced by | Exiles, De Onderneming (The Undertaking) |
| Audience | Adults |
| Language | English |
| Keywords | Theatre, Documentary, Biographical theatre |
| Website | Untitled Page |
Requirements to venue
| Blackout | No |
What is thinking? tells the story about the young Jewish philosophy student Hannah Arendt who aged 18 met the married philosophy professor Martin Heidegger, in what she later referred to as the love story of her life. In particular the relationship was difficult because Arendt was Jewish and had to flee the increasingly Anti-Semite Germany, while Heidegger stayed and got a leading position in the German party NSDAP. After the war Arendt resumed the relationship to Heidegger, despite his past as a Nazi during the Hitler regime.
In the Black Box Teater Program the production was described in the following way:
"What is thinking? is in short about the relation between Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger. It is about philosophy, but also one of the most piquant love stories of the 20th century. It was delicate, considering how Arendt was Jewish and had to flee to Paris, while Heidegger became a member of NSDAP. Arendt was one of the most fundamental critics of Nazism. Yet the same she forgave Heidegger after the war and they started a new relationship. As the title indicates What is Thinking? is a performance about reflection. But there is also room for humour and some unexpected digressions, such as the interest Heidegger had for football."
Sources: Untitled document [Exiles], exilesvzw.eu, 30.12.2010, http://www.exilesvzw.eu/pages/underEN.html
Vallat, Marianne Dyrnes, Tom Klev, Kristian Seltun (2006). Black Box Teater Oslo the spring of 2006: To belgiere i en smekk (literally: Two philosophers in one smack) . Black Box Teater [Oslo] page 45-46
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Ryszard Turbiasz | – Text |
| Carly Wijs | – Text |
| Ryszard Turbiasz | – Direction |
| Carly Wijs | – Direction |
| Ryszard Turbiasz | – Actor |
| Carly Wijs | – Actor |
| April 27, 2006 – Store scene Black Box Teater (Marstrandgata) | Show |
| April 26, 2006 – Store scene Black Box Teater (Marstrandgata) | Show |
| April 12, 2005 – Teaterhuset Avant Garden | Show |
| April 10, 2005 – Teaterhuset Avant Garden | National premiere, Norway |
"Low-tuned storytelling theatre which is both a tribute to all kinds of thinking and a tender presentation of the relationship between Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger."
Amund Grimstad, Klassekampen, April 13 2005
Source: http://www.klassekampen.no/artikler/kultur_medier/3097/article/item/null/ein-hyllest-til-tanken 26/1-11