APOLLON - STOP TRYNA BE GOD

Theatertreffen der Jugend 2026

APOLLON - STOP TRYNA BE GOD, waltraud900, Forum Freies Theater Düsseldorf – Ein Bühnenfoto in dem acht männlich gelesene Personen abgebildet sind. Sieben von ihnen knien auf dem Boden und schauen größtenteils gerade aus. Der in der mitte springt gerade und befindet sich mit weit ofnnen Armen und einem schreienden Gesichtsausdruck in der Luft. Im Hintergrund sind Scheinwerfer wodurch eine theatrale Stimmung entsteht. Sie tragen typische jugendliche Kleidung und tragen einen goldenen Lorbeerkranz auf dem Kopf.

“Masculinity is neither good nor bad – it depends on what we make of it.” The Apollos of today – an ensemble of eleven male-identifying young people aged 15 to 20 from diverse cultural backgrounds – descend from Olympus, take on Zeus, deconstruct male role models and reassemble them anew. Where are the sons of the future heading, and which questions accompany them?

“Zeus never asked me whether I wanted any of this. Do you think you could just grab a cola with him and talk about your feelings? Ask him questions like that?”

The Greek god Apollo appears, at first glance, to embody the ideal of perfect masculinity: otherworldly beauty, strength and power. As an infallible archer and guardian of the Oracle of Delphi, he represents the image of the assertive, potent achiever – a figure that today might readily be discussed under the label of “toxic masculinity”. At the same time, his mythological story is marked by failure, betrayal and deception, revealing unexpected fractures.

APOLLON – STOP TRYNA BE GOD explores masculinity as a cultural inheritance – something that is passed on, restaged and reproduced. Together with the German-Greek collective waltraud900 and the musician and rapper Uğur Kepenek (aka Busy Beast), an ensemble of eleven male-identifying young people aged 15 to 20, from diverse cultural backgrounds, has developed a performance that moves between myth and the present.

The Apollos of today fall in love with Daphne once more, confront Zeus, defeat the Python, descend from Olympus, deconstruct male role models and piece them back together anew. Which narratives still hold today? Which are beginning to shift? Where are the sons of the future heading, and what questions accompany them?

These questions were explored through workshops and discussions, in both German and Greek, and above all through an interdisciplinary approach combining music, dance and theatre. 

 

By and with

Gustav Becker, Bowen Gao, Nuragha Gasimov, Tasos Geraidis, Amin Hubricht, Simon Karol Gabriel Ilga, Uğur Kepenek, Anton Schebesta, Andreas Spektorov, Zhengli Wang, Timo Walek, Fabio Wilson, Juri Win Wintersig

Nuragha Gasimov, Andreas Spektorov, Zhengli Wang, Juri Win Wintersig – Live-Musik

waltraud900 – Idea and artistic direction

Bianca Künzel – Direction

Phaedra Pisimisi – Choreography

Bianca Künzel, Dorle Trachternach – Text 

Dorle Trachternach – Dramaturgy

Ria Papadopoulou – Equipment

Linda Bockholt – Music and musical direction

Uğur Kepenek aka Busy Beast – Texts/Rap

Theo Gatzka – Production Assistant

Mohammed Marouf Alhassan – Choreography assistant

Katrin Wiesemann – Production direction

Julius Kindermann, Eckehard Merholz – Lighting

Thorsten Runge – Sound

Forum Freies Theater Düsseldorf und Theater im Pumpenhaus Münster – Co-production partners

Next date:

• Date Friday, 05/June/2026 20:00
• Venue Haus der Berliner Festspiele - Große Bühne
• Address Schaperstraße 24, 10719 Berlin-Wilmersdorf