This is not theatre, this is a f*** protest!

Carrie Shelver and Antje Schupp combine creative protest and performance strategies. In their project «This is not theatre, this is a f*** protest!» they look into what happens when a creative political activist and a political creative artist combine their knowledge. Together, they examine the question of the extent to which protest can be presented and how protest strategies can be incorporated into art. Could this result in an event that completely blurs the boundaries between performance and protest? The «audience» becomes the «participants» and the «show» is transformed into a «workshop» that could at the end become a «protest». The third fellow protestor is scenographer Christoph Rufer, who organises the work process as an exhibition. 

Carrie Shelver is a committed feminist, activist and human rights defender with over 20 years of experience. She is a creative thinker and loves the challenge of finding new solutions to existing problems. Among other experience, she spent many years working in the area of gender-specific violence in South Africa and other countries in the south of the continent such as Zimbabwe, Angola, Malawi and Mozambique. For two years, Carrie has been working at Sexual Rights Initiative, a feminist coalition working to advance human rights related to sexuality at the United Nations. 

Antje Schupp is a director, performer and author. She is interested in political theatre, stages multidisciplinary performances and works in international coproductions as well as with non-professional performers. Antje’s performances have been shown at venues such as Theater Basel, Schauspielhaus Zürich, Theater am Neumarkt Zürich, Kaserne Basel and Staatstheater Augsburg. Her works have been showcased at the Berliner Theatertreffen festival «Shifting Perspectives», Festival Antigel, the Politik im Freien Theater festival and Impulse Theater Festival. Antje Schupp was a prize winner at Festspiele Zürich 2020.

Christoph Rufer lives in Berlin and Zurich, where he studied scenographical design at the Zurich University of the Arts from 2002 to 2006. From 2005 to 2009, he worked as a stage assistant at the Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz theatre and then joined Thalia Theater Hamburg until 2011. He has been a freelance stage and costume designer since 2011, working with artists such as Lars Eidinger, Schorsch Kamerun, Johannes v. Matuschka, Anne Habermehl and Alia Luque. He works with Antje Schupp on an ongoing basis in a wide range of project constellations. Outside of this theatre work, Christoph Rufer pursues his own projects in the areas of design and interior decorating.

The collaboration between Carrie, Antje and Christoph is focused on merging art and activism in the best possible way. They apply feminist working methods, facilitate artistic involvement and expand their knowledge of political work to (un)civil society.