People Will People You

Steven Cohen is an artist with a lot to say. From experience, from conviction and from the perspective of his complex cultural and artistic identity. Without exaggeration, the South African living in France is one of the most exciting personalities on our stages. Two years ago, euro-scene Leipzig had the privilege of experiencing him in PUT YOUR HEART UNDER YOUR FEET... AND WALK! as Pierrot the Extravagant, and as in all his performances, the body was the focus, both as a means of expression and as the subject of his pleas for tolerance and freedom. But now Cohen takes the floor and addresses the audience directly. In PEOPLE WILL PEOPLE YOU, this creates a direct, open and liberating exchange of ideas with this gentle humanist, who slowly dissolves the contrast between performing artist and watching audience. New forms of thinking and acting become conceivable and begin to fill a shared space. Cohen initiates a ritual that invites us to undergo a transformation together and to cross the boundary between art and everyday life. In a world that is increasingly slipping into virtual spaces, direct encounters offer precious opportunities to experience existence and resistance. PEOPLE WILL PEOPLE YOU is an act of liberation, a gift to the audience in Leipzig, who are the first in the world to experience Cohen's transformation.