Baha und die wilden 70er
- Location:
- Theaterhaus, Siemensstr. 11, 70469 Stuttgart
An event presented by ver.di Stuttgart, IG Metall Stuttgart, DIDF Stuttgart, and DGB Baden-Württemberg in cooperation with Theaterhaus Stuttgart.
Running time: 130 minutes, including an intermission.
Baha and the Wild '70s
A musical about the 1973 Ford strike
by Nedim Hazar
Germany, early 1970s: Hundreds of thousands of guest workers are toiling in industry for low wages—until a “wild Turkish strike” rocks the nation. In August 1973, around 10,000 predominantly Turkish workers occupy the Ford plant in Cologne, demanding equal pay for equal work and resisting impending mass layoffs. While radio and television provoked with headlines like “Are Guest Workers Taking Over?”, the strikers played music, sang, and danced inside the plant. The struggle failed, but strike spokesperson Baha Targün became a legend in the Turkish community.
The Cologne-based Sanat Ensemble—a 22-member ensemble combining theater and music—brings this nearly forgotten chapter of German history to the stage together with eyewitnesses. The press and audiences are raving about this thrilling journey through time, accompanied by songs composed specifically for the musical, including the title track by Eko Fresh: “One Mark More for Everyone!” The production also features the sounds of the wild ’70s: songs by Janis Joplin, David Bowie, and Hannes Wader, as well as “Yugoslavian” and Anatolian folk tunes, performed live by a rock band that includes two cellos and a baglama.