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Ryan Wichert stars in Lowest of the Low which transfers to the Arcola theatre from the German National Theatre later this year.
Directed by Mehmet Ergen, the play is set forty years after the publication of the groundbreaking exposé memoir Ganz Unten (Lowest of the Low), the undercover experience of German investigative journalist Günter Wallraff .
Disguised as a Turkish migrant worker in West Germany during the 1980s, Wallraff entered the hidden world of migrant labour for two years, experiencing and exposing the exploitation, racism and the harsh conditions faced by migrant workers. His revelations shocked Europe and are still strikingly relevant today.
Featuring music by renowned Turkish composer Tuluğ Tırpan, this docu-opera explores the everyday encounters and ethics of Wallraff’s undercover work, considering questions of cultural appropriation through the lens of today and investigating what drove Wallraff’s transformation.