© Cornelius Wachinger

Performance in English.

For Cry me a river, Anna Mendelssohn was presented with the Dietmar N. Schmidt Actor’s Award 2011. From the jury statement: “How do I save the self- destroying world while at the same time finding the right father for my future children? What to do when every certain truth seems banal, hope seems entirely naïve and engagement seems like nothing but a way of soothing one’s conscience? In her virtuosic monologue Anna Mendelssohn always finds the right tone, playing emphatically and yet lightly on the keyboard of her own and borrowed sensibilities. With precision and agility she performs a score for multiple voices. Pitch, speaking posture, languages are interwoven in ever new and original manners. Added to that are sound recordings and dance experiments that become detectors of white lies as well as the messengers of honed emotions. In this way a multifarious fabric of meanings is created, reflective and touching at the same time thanks to Anna Mendelssohn’s rich theatrical talents.”

For the one-woman climate conference Cry me a river, Austrian actress Anna Mendelssohn collected dozens of lectures, debates, interviews and conferences about climate change. With that material, she created one monologue that does not ignore the subject’s complexities. Where do facts turn into gut feeling? How do you seperate politics and personal life? While speakers succeed each other and emotions flare (sincere or not), a procession emerges, consisting of scientists, personally involved people, consultants and charlatans, all claiming to carry the truth.