James Baldwin would have turned 100 in August 2024. He is tied with Hamburg through visits, the attempt to get his friend Tony Maynard out of prison, and a lifelong friendship with his editor at Rowohlt and later ZEIT feuilleton editor Fritz J. Raddatz. The Chicago-born, Hamburg-based performance artist Kameron Locke takes this as the starting point for his performance at Fleetstreet Theater. Inspired by Baldwin’s texts and his correspondence with Raddatz, he draws connections between his own identity and the two men, who were known for their sharp, analytical texts, their political stance, and for being openly homosexual despite social rejection. In collaboration with two other performers, Locke interweaves their writings with his own narratives, dance, sound and other forms of storytelling to create an intimate performance that meditates on identity, race and the shared experience of being openly queer, as well as the relationship with fathers, reconciliation and the activist potential to love.

COMPOSITION, SOUND DESIGN

PREMIERE 23.08.2024
24.08.2024

Kampnagel – International Summer Festival 2024 / Fleetstreet Theater

Concept: Kameron Locke