Abstract: The play delves into the challenges of communication between individuals with and without disabilities, blurring the lines of who is considered disabled as the narrative unfolds. The irony of incompetent translators and impostors combines humour as well as philosophizing about human interaction and communication.

Details: The play commences with André, a wheelchair user, making a dramatic entrance onto the stage, uttering incomprehensible words. Five men attempt to engage with him, but their impatience, selective hearing, or assumption that André speaks a different language hinder communication. Eventually, the men and André take their seats at the stage’s edge, bathed in dim light, with a black canvas serving as both curtain and backdrop. Despite the visual separation, their feet (or André’s wheels) remain visible. During the song “Rose Garden,” an audio cassette recorder traverses the stage, while another actor appears to translate the lyrics into sign language. This scene repeats later, with the recorder passing by thrice, even when no music plays, emphasizing the characters' ability to sense the song through movement alone. Likewise, other recorded scenes recur, such as a heated argument between two men, accompanied by yelling and indecipherable sounds. Despite a sign language translator, the dialogue escalates into verbal violence, rendering the interpreter unable to keep up. The exchange ends with one man shouting “ass” before exiting, providing the only understandable word in this scene. Another recurring scene involves a blond man enthusiastically shouting “Interview!” In these dialogues, he poses questions, only to receive answers that never align with his inquiries. For instance, when inquiring about the pyramids, he is met with an explanation in broken English regarding the perpetually unfinished Berlin Airport, emphasizing the idea of “always waiting.” The play interconnects these scenes with brief dance or song displays, spanning from traditional children’s music to expressive dance. It culminates with a scene featuring three men attempting to translate an academic article on communication into sign language. The sign language interpreter, fluent in English but not German, struggles to convey the complex German-to-English translation of the intricate sentences. Amid this, the men realize that the academic text remains inaccessible to individuals with disabilities, adding a poignant layer to the narrative.