Droste, Haberlandt, Auf der Heyde, Münster: AUF ALLEN VIEREN – A world premiere based on the novel by Miranda July

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Miranda July’s bestselling novel All Fours centers on an extraordinary woman who, midway through her life, casts aside every convention. She abandons her familiar surroundings, checks into a roadside motel, and embarks on a radical experiment in self-discovery. What follows are three weeks filled with ecstasy, control, desire, emptiness – and an unexpected transformation. At the heart of her journey lies a stark question: What does it mean to live in a society that so often renders menopausal women invisible?

The novel offers a bold, unfiltered response. Its international success highlights a striking gap in contemporary literature: the lack of stories about middle-aged women. Enthusiastic readers encounter a narrative rarely told, despite the fact that countless women know all too well the inevitability of bodily change and the challenges it brings – to self-perception, relationships, daily life and desire. This makes the protagonist’s sudden, groundbreaking sense of agency all the more electrifying as she pursues her own “what if.” Like peering through a keyhole, readers find themselves drawn into the motel room, seduced into unleashing thoughts of their own.

For this world premiere, directors Sabine Auf der Heyde and Holle Münster collaborate with acclaimed actors Meike Droste and Fritzi Haberlandt to create an immersive space where fiction and reality dissolve into one another. With unflinching intensity, they explore what it means to break free of social expectations, to redefine female desire, and to reclaim one’s identity.

Miranda July’s novel All Fours was published in 2024 and was a finalist for the National Book Awards. It is the second novel by the artist, who has also made a name for herself as a filmmaker and performance artist.

Evening information

INFORMATION ON ACCESSIBILITY

Direction: Sabine Auf der Heyde, Holle MünsterPerformance: Meike Droste, Fritzi HaberlandtSet design: Hanna Roxane ScherwinskiDramaturgy: Carolin LoschVideo: Isabel RobsonMusic, composition: Sarah Taylor EllisChoreography assistance: Valentina BordenaveLight design, technical direction: Anahí PérezAssistant director, stage management: Freja SandeProduction management: Marit Buchmeier, Lisanne Grotz / xplus3 ProduktionsbüroProduction, touring: Nicole Schuchardt

This production uses the Libretto42 smartphone subtitling app from lemon 42.Use of video material of tiger slug (Leopard maximus) courtesy of Dr. Uzay Ugur Sezen and Siegfried Wand

A production by Münster Auf der Heyde in co-production with Sophiensæle. Co-production with the Théatres de la Ville de Luxembourg and Theater im Pumpenhaus Münster. Funded by the Capital Cultural Fund. With kind permission from Kiepenheuer & Witsch. Translation by Stefanie Jacobs. Media partners: Missy Magazine, Siegessäule, taz.