Orto-da Theatre: STONES

Orto-Da Theatre: Stones – Drei mit Schlamm bedeckte Personen lachen mit roten Blumen in den Haenden.

The play “Stones” by the Tel Aviv-based Orto-Da Theatre explores what would happen if monuments suddenly began to speak. Performer and director Yinon Tzafrir developed the production together with his six-member ensemble over a period of more than twelve years. Without words, but using tableaux vivants, physical theater, a haunting soundtrack, and precise lighting design, the sculptures—now brought to life—explore the culture of remembrance. This moving yet surprisingly humorous performance weaves history together with stories of individual resilience.

The starting point is the Monument to the Heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto, created in 1948 by the Jewish sculptor Nathan Rapoport. The monumental, double-sided block of Swedish labradorite commemorates the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: While the front features larger-than-life bronze figures of resistance fighters in battle, the back depicts a group of people on their way to their deaths. The site gained worldwide fame through Willy Brandt’s kneeling gesture in 1970—a symbolic act of seeking forgiveness for German crimes.

The Orto-Da Theater is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

The ensemble’s extraordinary stage aesthetics have been honored with 15 international theater awards to date, including “Stones” as “Best Play.”

Next date:

• Date Sunday, 15/November/2026 18:00
• Venue Synagoge Rykestraße
• Address Rykestraße 53, 10405 Berlin