This project is inspired by Alfred Döblins Berge, Meere und Giganten (Mountains, Oceans, Giants), published in 1924. Although written a century ago, this speculative novel unintentionally resonates with the political, ecological and social transformations unfolding in Europe and across the world today.

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The novel imagines the world in the 27th century – after a devastating world war and the destruction of nature. Finally the survivers cross vast oceans in search for a place for new settlement: Greenland. In order to make the territory colonizable they decide to melt the icecap for getting access to the heat of the Earth from the Iceland’s volcanoes. But nature strikes back and from the uncovered land grotesque monsters composed of flora, fauna, minerals, and bones of dead creatures under the ice rise up. Among others new living beings consisting of air masses appear like swarms and devour complete ships…

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Döblin vividly develops the motif of nature, in which, after repeated technological evolutions, completely new and powerful manifestations emerge that are capable of literally engulfing humanity. The rapid development of new technologies has brought humanity to a turning point.

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Paper Tiger follows in this production Döblin's pressing question of what will happen with the world caught in a storm of reconfiguration. Fragments from the novel will interact with the physicality and fragility of dancers/performers.

The air masses within this storm hover above everyone’s heads.