A bittersweet collective meditation on ageing and its cruelty, dying, waiting for what will never come, on true helplessness, fear and anger, in short, on everything we turn a blind eye to. Like most of us, do you feel it doesn't apply to you? All the more reason to be alert so that you are not surprised by the signs of advanced age later on. And perhaps also so that we can have greater compassion for each other. Any one of us may one day find ourselves in the position of a bedridden person. What is hidden behind the absent gaze, behind the silent faces? The Swiss author Katja Brunner, who writes in German, has embarked on a pilgrimage in which she wants to explore all aspects of old age, which people often experience literally left behind in retirement homes. In Ghosts Are Only Human, a prominent representative of the youngest generation of female authors from German-speaking countries offers her view of people who once bubbled with energy and had rich private, civic and comfortable lives. All that is left, however, are bodies pretending to be what they once were, plus scraps of experience and bruises showing the "kind" attitude of the nursing staff. Isn't the name retirement home a synonym for death home? Can a person in advanced age feel like a forgotten glove while another feels an overwhelming sexual desire? We learn this in monologues, which, as the author herself puts it, have no future, which makes them more free than others. Katja Brunner's writing was based on her experience volunteering in such a facility. Her text is a response to the bureaucratisation of ageing and the dehumanisation of human beings.

 

 

Première June 14, 2025