Is.Man

Abstract

Is.Man is an open letter to society, a stream of words, music, dance, and film, a theatre production about honor killing and its perpetrators. Undoubtedly Is.Man is a story on a social theme, but it is not the result of a mere addition of facts and figures updated daily by the media. Honor killing, a form of collectively condoned violence, became the focal point of Is.Man while Adelheid Roosen was meeting a convicted killer, whose real identity is not given in the play. Murdering a (usually) female relative is meant to cleanse the tarnished honor of the family, the namus. It is the woman who carries the burden of namus, it is the man who defends it; by killing the woman, if need be.