DEREVO rehearses three new works simultaneously, so full of yearning we are... "Robert's Dream", "Totentanz", "The Eternal Jew". One of these works (it's interesting… which one?) will be premiered in December in Hellerau in Dresden.

We had the dream about the Big Uselessness of the All. Next morning there was a "Down-With-It-Day" announced. Mountains of material Uselessness were thrown away. There is spiritual Uselessness left but it's not as clear. It's harder to detect. Well, it seems to be easier now anyway...

Alisa and Shtyck went to the Elbe to throw dolls into the water. Later with the Police they argued in an interesting English that they were "not necessary to us" and the fact that the dolls didn't sink was just a problem with the enduring nature of Uselessness. The Police explained that there is no prohibition on throwing the Past into the Elbe but the "not necessary" must be loaded with stones (Steine) so to sink. Otherwise such big dolls (Puppen) may be taken for buoys by night (im Dunklen) and mislead the ships.

Quite unexpectedly friends from Budapest got in touch with a project called "Theatre Utopia". We'll start it with pleasure. With pleasure we'll fly to Siberia and with pleasure we'll come back to Germany. And then to Shanghai.

With pleasure.

*****

Ships on the Elbe navigate via bodies
bloated as paper dolls weeping red shadows.
Lights flicker flame-like calling up pasts of fireworks,
celebration. Boys throw bullets that explode at women's feet
in patent leather high heels - the women dance. Men mourn
dreams, individuality, feeling as nature commands.
Their painted smiles ghastly on the stark bows,
dark eyes betray them as they grin at one another,
sail in circles.

Jennifer Williams