Der Teich

Based on the Short Play by Robert Walser

• 

  Foto: Estelle Hanania – Person mit geschlossenem Augen liegt auf einer hellen Fläche, trägt ein weißes Hemd und roten Lippenstift. Kopf ist nach rechts geneigt.

• 

  Foto: Estelle Hanania – Person in blauem Licht, trägt Pullover und Hose, blickt nach oben, hält Gegenstand in der Hand; Schatten und Objekte auf dem Boden.

• 

  Foto: Estelle Hanania

• 

  Foto: Estelle Hanania – Person mit geschlossenen Augen, Arm am Gesicht, in rotem Licht; Hintergrund verschwommen, Bett im Raum.

• 

  Foto: Estelle Hanania – Langhaarige Person in weißem Hemd und schwarzer Hose vor orange-gelbem Hintergrund, mit geschlossenen Augen und seitlich geneigtem Kopf.

• 

  Foto: Estelle Hanania – Person mit weißem Hemd und dunkler Hose lehnt an einer blauen Wand, Augen geschlossen.

What drives a child to extremes? In Robert Walser’s short drama, Der Teich (The Pond), the haunting story unfolds of a boy who does not feel loved by his family. At the height of despair, he fakes his own suicide. Blurring the lines between monologue and dialogue, the author zooms into the boy’s mind and shows how the self is disintegrating in a riot of emotions.The award-winning actors Adèle Haenel and Julie Shanahan will team up with eight dolls to stage a psychoactive chamber drama about power dynamics and agonising family structures, in a production by theatre artist Gisèle Vienne. Lighting designer Yves Godin and the musicians Stephen F. O’Malley – frontman of the legendary doom metal band Sunn O))) – and François J. Bonnet have created a trance-like light and sound environment for Vienne’s piece. The Pond is a choreography into the darkest depths of the soul and a captivating journey.Since 1999, Gisèle Vienne has been exploring subjects that touch upon social taboos in her choreographic and theatre works. Her productions such as Kindertotenlieder and the party-in-slow-motion choreography CROWD are defining works in recent dance history. In 2024, exhibitions at Haus am Waldsee and Georg Kolbe Museum showcased the disturbingly lifelike puppets that are characteristic of Vienne’s work. This year, the Franco-Austrian artist, who studied philosophy, music and puppeteering, will present her work based on the literary text Der Teich in Berlin for the first time. Her debut production at the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz is scheduled for the 2028/2029 season.

Artists/Collaborators: Adèle Haenel (mit), Julie Shanahan (mit), Gisèle Vienne (Konzept, Inszenierung, Bühne, Dramaturgie), Yves Godin (Licht), Adrien Michel (Ton), Stephen F. O'Malley (Regie Musik)

Next date:

• Date Friday, 06/November/2026 20:00 ( 1 more date )
• Venue Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz - Großes Haus
• Address Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, 10178 Berlin-Mitte