Parte de Nós

Since the beginning of time, we have told one another stories about what it means to be human, where we come from and where we belong. Some of these stories continue to shape our lives, while others have been forgotten.

Part of Us rediscovers one such tale: the fable of an ancestral bird, the last of its kind, which is believed to have travelled the world alone for centuries, in search of a companion that sings with the same voice. As a grandson recounts this journey while revisiting memories of his grandmother, the story mirrors our own search for old and new ways of being together. Audiences follow the search for the vanished mythical bird and reconnect with shared memories, ancestral stories and forms of knowledge that exist beyond scientific explanation. Its name, Nô, echoes the Portuguese word nós (“we”), embodying the work’s central idea: that we are part of one another, connected through shared histories and care.

Through its dialogue between generations, the performance approaches ancestry as a living presence that continues to shape the present. Rather than presenting time as linear, Part of Us proposes a circular understanding of time in which past, present and future coexist. Along this journey, the work reveals how stories, memories and affection continue to connect us despite our differences.

The performance invites audiences into an immersive theatrical experience with wireless headphones. The Brazilian actor and director, Lucas Lacerda, guides the participants through the museum’s hallways and exhibition spaces while talking about his relationship with his grandmother, collective memories, and the many myths surrounding the sacred bird Nô.

Created by the German-Brazilian duo Po:era (Lucas Lacerda and Daniel Weyand), Part of Us has previously been presented in Salvador do Bahia, São Paulo and Bauru in Brazil and now finally arrives in Germany. Based on site-specific research conducted at each collaborating venue, as well as participatory creative processes and workshops with local communities, the artists re-write and co-produce new story elements in dialogue with the human and non-human inhabitants of the places where their art can be experienced.

For Transkontinentale the performance reflects on the memories and stories related to the reconstruction of the ‘Berliner Schloss’ which does not only host the exhibitions of the Ethnologisches Museum but also a multitude of questions, positions, contradictions and personal relations.

Director, script writer and performer: Lucas Lacerda
Script writer, sound designer and performe: Daniel Weyand
Guest: Norma Lacerda
Production assistant and artist support: Luciana Lacerda
Management and Logistics: Khazar Masoumi und Gabi Gonçalves
Music Collaboration: Samaquias Lorta
Movement Collaboration: Marcelo Galvão
Production: Po:era
Co-produktion: Corpo Rastreado & Corpo Afora, São Paulo