Theblondproject

Two blond women – both successful in their area of expertise – will open the Kasino with Theblondproject. A long working relationship connects these two women, Gesine Danckwart and Caroline Peters. They talk about life as a blonde and more. But what does that mean, and what does blond mean? Blond plays with clichés. Blond takes place in the mind and in real life. Blond is an attitude. Blond is fake – only 2% of the world’s entire population is naturally blond. Blond plays with identity, and that has a long tradition: In ancient Rome, women already tried to bleach their hair with pigeon droppings. And Venetian women used horse urine during the Renaissance.
The origin of the word “blond” is not entirely clear: The Latin word blundus – which means “yellow” – is one source. The Old Franconian word blund, on the other hand, means “grey-haired”, and the Old English word beblonden can best be translated as “dyed”.

Danckwart/Chez Company describe their artistic project as follows: “Theblondproject aims to initiate dyeing processes. Blond as a strategy for transforming values, carried to extremes. To what extent are our careers shaped by our role models? How can we vary our thought and behaviour patterns, exercise freedoms from gender and power issues. Based on our two-year survey of work and power structures along our own paths, at the interface between our partner houses, Burgtheater and Deutsche Oper, we will develop two productions that relate thematically to each other, but use different aesthetics. Our extensive interviews have resulted in texts, videos, music and a manifesto. In our work, the arts intertwine, and there is an interplay between biographical anecdotes and the question of the underlying structure. As we play with our human avatars, we take our blond insights and demands out of the theatres in Vienna and Berlin and onto the street and worldwide web. Blond is for everyone.”

A PRODUCTION BY CHEZ COMPANY AND BURGTHEATER, FUNDED BY THE DOPPELPASS FUND OF THE FEDERAL CULTURAL FOUNDATION (GERMANY)