Hallo, hier spricht Nawalny

Theater Akzent, Wien

Idea, concept and text selection: Katja Kolm
Translation and German adaptation: Katja Kolm and Isolde Schmitt
Alexei Navalny's letters from prison and his speeches at court hearings have become a special literary genre in which one of the most famous political prisoners appears as a sober analyst, a passionate prophet, a stern and ironic accuser and a loving husband. He dissects the Russian government, describes the conditions in Russian prisons, takes excursions into Russian history and shares personal experiences. His epistolary legacy tells the story of the Russian resistance and how to maintain humanity under inhumane conditions.
Austrian actress Katja Kolm began collecting Alexei Navalny's prison writings and speeches at court hearings in 2021. After long preparation, driven by the desire to bring these remarkable texts to German-speaking audiences, her reading "Hallo, hier spricht Nawalny" was premiered at the 2024 Salzburg Festival with the kind permission of Julia Nawalnaja and the support of Marina Davydova. The selected writings fall within the period from September 2020 to February 2024.
Michael Maertens will read the texts by Alexei Navalny and Katja Kolm those by Yulia Navalnaya.