The Names / שמות is a musical-literary piece, structured as a contemporary religious service. From Arnold Schoenberg’s opera “Moses und Aron” to traditional Yemenite sounds to Madonna’s “Like A Prayer”, the piece arranges (pop-) cultural references following the structural logic of traditional Jewish practice. A text by the author Senthuran Varatharajah is interwoven with the sound of Studio LABOUR, the voices of the Berlin “Show Choir” and an immersive lighting concept by Joseph Wegmann, to result in a new gospel that celebrates diversity and complexity, and renews the age-old promise of a community constantly in the making.
Following “the names / שמות” premiere in 2023, a new version named “a name / שם”, that focuses on music and text, devoid of almost all visual elements, was staged in 2024 and 2025.
2023: Premiere / HAU Hebbel am Ufer
2024: Gessnerallee Zürich
2025: HAU Hebbel am Ufer
