News

The City of Cologne has awarded the residency grant at “Atelier Galata” in the field of visual arts to Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay. International exchange is of central importance to the City of Cologne as a hub for art and culture, and the residency in Istanbul helps to deepen the long-standing city partnership and sustainably strengthen the local art scene through artistic networking.
Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay has been selected as a fellow at “Atelier Galata” for the months of August and September.

From the jury’s statement:
“In the essay film *Cairo, Hagen, Istanbul*, Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay uses the film *Minyeli Abdullah* (Abdullah from Minya)—part of the “White Cinema” movement—as the starting point for a cinematic exploration. The film traces a cycle of translation and transformation processes from Cairo, through Istanbul, to Hagen: From an originally Turkish narrative, through its translation into the form of a martyr’s tale set in colonial Egypt, to its reception and ideological interpretation within the Turkish diaspora in Germany. Istanbul serves as the central space of translation and is at the heart of the investigation. The Jury She impressively explored the complex interweaving of historical, theological, ideological, and media-theoretical narratives in a personal reflection on experiences of powerlessness and the longings of the Turkish diaspora.”

MAKE LOVE NOT WAR.
A (ONE NIGHT) STAND-UP SHOW

by and with Orit Nahmias

In her stand-up show, which premiered at the Maxim Gorki Theater, Orit Nahmias explores the fear of death and the joy of life. With brutal honesty and self-irony, she delves into the tangled intersection of love, sex, trauma, and politics—fully aware of the explosive nature of these topics.

The guest performance will take place on June 27, 2026, at 6 p.m. at the Oval Office at Schauspielhaus Bochum. 

A BEE IN THE HEART OF HER

Written by Sibyl Kempson
Directed by Sibyl Kempson and Daniel Brunet
Original Music by Robert M. Johanson (Nature Theatre of Oklahoma)
Performed by Sibyl Kempson, Robert M. Johanson and Daniel Brunet

Henrik Ibsen created some of the most famous female characters in theater history. But what would these women say if they were no longer bound by his text and could finally tell their own stories?
Over the course of a weaving workshop for recovering Ibsen women, Nora, Hedda Gabler, and other heroines come together to tell their own versions of the story. They confront mistranslations, misunderstood origins, mistaken fates, mansplaining and everything their author, in their opinion, got wrong.
Somewhere between a concert, a comedy, and a feminist reimagining of the theatrical canon, Sibyl Kempson lets Ibsen’s characters break free from their roles and reinvent themselves.

The world premiere takes place on June 24, 2026, at 8 p.m. at the English Theatre Berlin.
Additional Performances: June 25–27, 2026.

MOZART. SCHWARZENEGGER. HITLER

A musical performance by Isabella Sedlak

Direction and Concept: Isabella Sedlak
Music: Thomas Moked Blum

“Mozart. Schwarzenegger. Hitler.”—three names that symbolize Austria. This musical and theatrical performance brings Mozart into the present day: somewhere between TikTok and the Rococo era, a figure emerges who is at once a genius, a pop star, and an exploited individual.
Writer and director Isabella Sedlak and musician Thomas Moked Blum interweave Mozart’s melodies with Jewish, Arab, and Latin American traditions—in a style that is grotesquely humorous, highly political, and a declaration of love for Mozart as a transcultural artist in a state of perpetual remix. As one of four winning productions from the “To the Edges” directing competition at the National Theater Mannheim, the musical performance will have its world premiere as part of the Mannheimer Sommer festival.

Calle Fuhr receives the Dr. Otto Kasten Prize 2026!

The prize was awarded as part of the conference of the German Theatre Association (Deutscher Bühnenverein), with this year’s focus on “Theatre as a Democratic Space.” It honors theatre makers and scenic designers who experiment with the opening of space – both literally and figuratively.

From the jury’s statement: “Calle Fuhr’s theatre creates democratic spaces of experience: with great precision of content, he opens up stages for ambivalence and public debate. His productions enable encounter rather than separation – making theatre a place where social conflicts can be negotiated together.”

WAR AND PEACE. A stage essay about Russia, Ukraine, and compulsory military service
by Calle Fuhr in cooperation with CORRECTIV

A production by Schauspiel Köln

In his new stage essay, Calle Fuhr addresses the question of what a contemporary security policy might look like. Does Germany need conscription again? Or is the new armament simply excessive? In search of answers, he examines the history of Vladimir Putin, the corruption surrounding the Nord Stream pipelines, and Russia’s strategies to harm Western democracies.

The guest performance as part of the Autor:innenTheaterTage 2026 will take place on June 13, 2026, at 8:30 p.m. at the Deutsches Theater.

MEIN KLEINES PRACHTTIER

Based on the novel by Lucas Rijneveld
Translated from the Dutch by Helga van Beuningen

Directed by Leonie Böhm
Costume Design by Belle Santos

FRANKENSTEIN based on Mary Shelley

Directed by Anna Stiepani
Junges Theater

Anna Stiepani reimagines the classic tale in which a scientist becomes a victim of his own ambitions and the lines between creation and self-determination blur, using the timeless myth of Frankenstein to explore the question: What makes us human?

The premiere takes place on May 30, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at Theater im Werftpark at Theater Kiel.

ZIRKUS KAFKA

by Roy Chen
translated by Matthias Naumann
Music: Thomas Moked Blum

In Roy Chen’s play, commissioned by Schauspiel Frankfurt, the characters from Kafka’s last text demand their place in history. They are four circus performers—not particularly successful, but undeniably unique. They reflect the sacrifices that art demands of artists: Must artists always go hungry? How much must the monster called the audience be fed before it is satisfied? Where is the line between the stage and private life? Is it even possible to make art without sacrificing one’s own life for it?
In this collaboration, Germany-based director Dor Aloni and Israel-based author Roy Chen delve into the universe of Franz Kafka and discover characters who, in grappling with their art, explore questions of morality, fame, identity, and belonging.

The World Premiere takes place on May 22, 2026, at 8 p.m. at Schauspiel Frankfurt (Kammerspiele).

FINITE
A music theatre piece by Asia Ahmetjanova and Franziska Angerer

World Premiere on May 10, 2026, as part of the Munich Biennale in Munich
A co-production of the Munich Biennale and Deutsche Oper Berlin

Stage & Light Design: Mirjam Stängl
Costume Design: Sabrina Bosshard

Following its world premiere in Munich, the music theater production FINITE is now coming to Berlin. It explores our relationship with death and how we deal with our own decline. Through a group of elderly people, the audience is confronted with the reality of their own mortality and old age, with all its associated connotations. Through poetic imagery, a communal ritual emerges—somewhere between mythology and performance—that seeks a joyful surrender to this ultimate consequence of life.

The Berlin premiere will take place on May 22, 2026, at 8 p.m. at the Tischlerei at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.