Nedjo Osman, born in Macedonia, at that time the first trained Roma actor of Yugoslavia, later a longtime member of the NRW-based Roma theater "Pralipe" and co-founder of the Cologne TKO Theater in 1996, will launch the first European Roma Theater in 2008.
The concept provides for continuous cooperation with trained Roma actors from Hungary, Romania, Macedonia, Serbia .
The scattered theater artists want to work in their countries and across borders for a professionalization of the Roma culture.
In recent years, Nedjo Osman has been regularly involved in project work with young Roma in Cologne, as well as conducting intensive international networking. Now he wants to bring together the gained experience and powers and to found a European ensemble with professional Roma actors.
The theater projects are on the one hand - so. linguistically - remain well connected to the respective countries of origin, but point thematically and artistically beyond the national borders.
Productions will be developed that will be presented in different languages and changing castings in the participating countries.
The actors act as "cultural ambassadors" and provide the Roma in the cooperating countries with a public platform. Continuity and change go hand in hand and serve as a long-term artistic research trip that aims to promote and integrate gifted Roma from the fields of theater, dance, literature and music.
Where once the European Roma were subject to different national policies and represented a more or less marginalized ethnic group, today, in a Europe that is growing together, they can give a joint and many-voiced concert.
To this end, the European Roma Theater wants to make an active contribution.
