“Je suis Fassbinder” is the latest very political, highly complex product of the long-lasting collaboration between the German playwright Falk Richter and the French actor-director Stanislas Nordey. The latter directs since 2014 the Théâtre national de Strasbourg. Their current collaboration is at the same time an homage to the German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, a decisive artistic influence for both, and nothing less than an attempt to understand in how far the fear of terrorism changes Europe, more specifically Germany and France. To that end, “Je suis Fassbinder” outlines parallels between the situation in Germany during the 1970s, when it was threatened by terror attacks of the RAF, and the current state of emergency in France. In both cases, fear of attacks weakened the democracy, the play says. However, “Je suis Fassbinder”, ultimately doesn’t blame or provide answers. Rather it encourages the audience to keep an independent spirit even in times of fear – as did Fassbinder, here played by Stanislas Nordey himself.
