Neither kinky parties nor Beyoncé have managed to break through the hard core of the millennia-old Roman Catholic tradition. A tradition that is performatively authenticated by the constant performance of rituals. A tradition that systematically excludes women and queers, among others. Now we say: Enough with the Vatican - it's time to open the Muttikan.

MUTTIKAN performatively appropriates the Roman Catholic mass as a format and develops a secular counter-model to it. Marco Merenda, Linda Lou Dierich-Matzke and Christopher Ramm guide the audience - the children of the Muttikan - through experiences that give new meanings to the events and actions of the mass. Roman Catholic church rituals and orders of movement are translated on three different levels: ritual-symbolic, content-related and spatial-choreographic.

The soundscapes and tracks that I have developed for Muttikan consist of field recordings that I made during our residency in Rome, including in St Peter's Basilica. These live recordings of choir singing and elements of the mass are mixed with analogue and digital synthesizers, as well as samples from pop culture. The result is a soundscape that combines the sacredness of the Catholic mass with queer club culture.

31.05.-02.06.2024 MS Stubnitz - in cooperation with the Lichthof Theatre

BY & WITH: Linda Lou Dierich-Matzke, Marco Merenda [concept, artistic direction, choreography, performance, dramaturgy]; Christopher Ramm [sound, performance, dramaturgy]; Carolina Burandt & Anastasia Kriwoscheja [stage]; Steve Leander Oelmann [costume]; Doria Worden [lighting design]; Nathalie Giele, Su Jin Kim [dramaturgical and choreographic advice]; Kerstin Henky [production]; Lorenz Vetter [photography, graphics], Shitty Pants Productions [video].


Funded by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Ministry of Culture and Media. Supported by the Probebühne im Gängeviertel.
The research process was funded by the Goethe Institut and the Institut Français as part of the residency programme ‘Nouveau Grand Tour’ and by Creative Europe as part of the mobility programme ‘Culture Moves Europe’.