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Yvonne Poppek
After allegations of anti-Semitism by Jewish students, the Munich Metropoltheater is completely canceling the play “Birds” by Wajdi Mouawad. There will also no longer be a special performance on Sunday, to which representatives of the Jewish community, the media and politics were invited to form their own opinion. “We will not and do not want to perform the piece in the form we have worked out for the time being,” says a press release.
“Since the first allegation was made, many conversations have taken place, especially with Jewish fellow citizens and representatives of the Jewish community.” The Metropoltheater describes these as factual and approachable and they have meant “that we were able to understand why the criticized text passages can cause such strong negative reactions in some people.” The house expresses its regret for this – and reacts with the complete dismissal.
However, this process is not easy. The theater is aware that this can also be understood as “censorship and as a restriction of freedom of expression and freedom of art”. “But this discourse must be conducted in a larger context in an objective manner. The decision to suspend the play was made to prevent further rifts in society and to send a clear signal against anti-Semitism.”
The production by director Jochen Schölch had its premiere at the beginning of October. It was positively received by critics and audiences. The play deals with many facets of the conflict in the Middle East, hung on a love and family story. Mouawad staged the world premiere in Paris in 2017, and the piece arrived in Tel Aviv in 2018, as well as in Germany, where it was played in many houses. In early November, two Jewish student associations criticized the play as anti-Semitic. These were the first public allegations of this kind.