ROSA L.

About the show

Rosa Luxemburg was born in 1871 in the south-east of what is now Poland; she began her political career as a Polish social democrat, studied in Switzerland, and went on to become a charismatic figure in Berlin and an icon of the European Left. She went down in history as a combative politician in a male-dominated world, as a revolutionary socialist in the German Empire, and as a leading Marxist theorist. Her assassination by right-wing Freikorps on 15 January 1919 in the heart of Berlin brought her life’s work to an end. In 1986, exactly 40 years ago, the filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta brought the story of one of the 20th century’s most significant political figures to life through opulent imagery. Through a blend of dramatised and documentary scenes, the film explores both the political and private sides of Rosa Luxemburg’s life. Director Anica Tomić, who lives in Croatia, has adapted the film for the stage and, together with the writer Jelena Kovačić, has rewritten it to reflect the present day. How can we interpret and reflect on Rosa Luxemburg… at a time when militarisation is justified by talk of crisis and security… at a time when nationalism is on the rise in Europe… at a time when fear is becoming a political tool and war is once again conceivable?