Things | about | Life: A moving museum of remembrance on Mannheim's stage
Date and Time
Location
About this Event
Mood
Venue Type
Memory comes to life: Things | about | Life at Studio Werkhaus
Ayşe Güvendiren's staging Things | about | Life is dedicated to Mevlüde Genç – a woman who lost five relatives in the racist arson attack in Solingen in 1993 and nevertheless advocated for humanity and reconciliation as a peace ambassador until her death.
A theatrical museum against forgetting
On stage, there is no monumental memorial, but rather a poetic space of remembrance. Stories, songs, and material testimonies come together to create a research on loss, migration, right-wing terror, and the power of lived responsibility. The dramaturgy not only questions what a society remembers, but also which things, voices, and biographies it gives significance to.
Between personal history and German contemporary history
The direction approaches Mevlüde Genç with great sensitivity. The focus is not just the act, but a whole life: the everyday resilience, the ability to forgive, and the determination not to let hate have the last word. Inspired by Orhan Pamuk's The Museum of Innocence, the staging develops its own form of documentary stage art.
Acting, sound, and stage design as remembrance work
Bruno Akkan, Maria Helena Bretschneider, and Pablo Weller de la Torre shape the evening with a concentrated acting that takes quiet tones as seriously as the historical breaks. The stage and video open up a sensory space of experience; music and sound design by Torsten Knoll give the memories a resonant acoustics. This creates a theatrical atmosphere where small gestures and concrete objects become carriers of great stories.
A celebrated staging with a clear stance
The press described the theater evening as a poetically sensitive search and a delicate, vivid engagement with a story of violence and responsibility. The staging was also nominated for the German Theater Prize DER FAUST in the category Genre Jumper in 2026.
Conclusion: A stage experience that resonates
Things | about | Life combines research theater, culture of remembrance, and acting into a compelling stage experience. Those who experience theater as a place of social discourse and human closeness will find an evening that continues to resonate long after the final applause.
Official channels of Nationaltheater Mannheim:
- Instagram: no official profile found
- Facebook: no official profile found
- YouTube: no official profile found
- Website: Nationaltheater Mannheim
