Catladies

A cat lady seems to be something negative—a woman who is single, divorced, or widowed, in any case lonely and alone, who surrounds herself with four-legged friends because of this. For their new musical documentary project, werkgruppe2 interviewed women in the Ruhr region who lead the lives of cat ladies and immersed themselves in their reality. Here, life with animals has an inestimable value. “There is always someone there who is happy when you come home. That’s a different quality, I would say.” Questions about the quality of life of women over 70 and their life achievements, which often remain hidden, are the starting point for the production, which wants to know exactly: Are women affected by poverty in old age? What do they have in abundance? Loneliness? Who do they care for and who do they no longer want to care for? Who cares for them when they get sick? How do they look back on their often decades of (care) work? Were they paid for this work, is it even recognized? A theatreproject with actors and a live musician about the happiness of cat ladies.