Co-co-co-co-collapse
(c) Marcel Urlaub
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Co-co-co-co-collapse
A stutter piece
By Helgard Haug mit Musik von Barbara Morgenstern & The Sea Beats
What happens when an organism, a person, or an entire system comes to a standstill? What are the consequences of radical breaks—for communication, life paths, and global trade—and how can we use them to create something new?
“Ko-ko-ko-ko-collapse” connects stories of temporary stagnation. A stuttering person, a refugee, and a paralyzed singer talk about their personal standstills. A battery speaks up, material fatigue undermines its reliability, threatening its smooth operation. And the container ship “Ever Given,” on which this battery was transported to enable this radio play to be heard on all devices, is also stuck. In 2021, it is blocking the Suez Canal, and international freight transport is holding its breath. The world is out of sync. What if the rhythm escalates and at some point tips over into something completely new?
“Ko-ko-ko-ko-collapse” connects stories of temporary stagnation. A stuttering person, a refugee, and a paralyzed singer talk about their personal standstills. A battery speaks up, material fatigue undermines its reliability, threatening its smooth operation. And the container ship “Ever Given,” on which this battery was transported to enable this radio play to be heard on all devices, is also stuck. In 2021, it is blocking the Suez Canal, and international freight transport is holding its breath. The world is out of sync. What if the rhythm escalates and at some point tips over into something completely new?
With:
Hana Hazem Arabi
Adham Elsaid
Bettina Grahs
Hao Yang Sun
Marianne Vlaschits
Drums: Daniel Eichholz
Vocals: Adham Elsaid
Keyboard and vocals: Barbara Morgenstern
Sound design: Peter Breitenbach
Recording: Michael Kube
Music recording: Alex Paulick
Technical realization: Sebastian Nohl and Peter Hamacher
Idea, text, direction: Helgard Haug
Dramaturgy: Christina Hänsel
A production of Westdeutscher Rundfunk 2025
First broadcast: November 8, 2025
Length: 53:30
Hana Hazem Arabi
Adham Elsaid
Bettina Grahs
Hao Yang Sun
Marianne Vlaschits
Drums: Daniel Eichholz
Vocals: Adham Elsaid
Keyboard and vocals: Barbara Morgenstern
Sound design: Peter Breitenbach
Recording: Michael Kube
Music recording: Alex Paulick
Technical realization: Sebastian Nohl and Peter Hamacher
Idea, text, direction: Helgard Haug
Dramaturgy: Christina Hänsel
A production of Westdeutscher Rundfunk 2025
First broadcast: November 8, 2025
Length: 53:30
Many thanks to the Volkstheater Wien, the HAU Hebbel am Ufer, the Theater Magdeburg, and the Kulturstiftung des Bundes, which made the play EVER GIVEN possible, from whose material the radio play was developed.