Decision made: These are the 10 guest performances for AUGENBLICK MAL! 2025
The four-member selection committee has chosen five plays for children and five for young people from 233 production proposals submitted. In May, these ten guest performances will become the centerpiece of AUGENBLICK MAL! 2025.
After dozens of hours of viewing, on-site visits, pre-selection and controversial discussion, the following productions were chosen:
CHILDREN'S THEATER
Der allerbeste Familienstreit. Ein Familien-Forschungsfest (6+)
Die AZUBIS (Hamburg); direction: Kai Fischer and Christopher Weiß
Der Katze ist es ganz egal (9+)
Theater Münster; author: Franz Orghandl; direction: Carina Sophie Eberle
O (die shOw) (6+)
FELD Zentrale für junge Performance e.V., Berlin
Direction: Jan Kress, Julia Keren Turbahn and Jan Rozman
SPLASH! (6+)
Theater Marabu (Bonn) in co-production with Beethovenfest Bonn and Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen; direction: Tina Jücker and Claus Overkamp
TROJA – Blinde Passagiere im trojanischen Pferd (10+)
theaterkohlenpott (Bochum);
Author: Henner Kallmeyer; direction: Frank Hörner
Faust – eine Tragödie (15+)
stellwerk weimar e.V., Weimar
Freely adapted from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; direction: Till Wiebel and ensemble
Follow me! (12+)
tanzmainz / Staatstheater Mainz; choreography: Felix Berner
PEER GYNT (14+)
Staatsschauspiel Dresden, Bürger:Bühne, Dresden
After Henrik Ibsen, in a version by Joanna Praml and Dorle Trachternach;
direction: Joanna Praml
Talking about silence (14+)
HELIOS Theater (Hamm) in cooperation with Ishyo Arts Centre (IAC), Kigali (Ruanda)
Author: Steffen Moor; direction: Carole Karemera and Barbara Kölling
Wolf (11+)
Thalia Theater GmbH, Hamburg
Author: Saša Stanišić; direction: Camilla Ferra
“We were looking for diverse and innovative theater that inspires young audiences”, explain the curators. “With us, you can expect magical and surprising experiences that delve into socially relevant topics, pursue experimental and interactive approaches and/or open up new perspectives. The empowerment and co-design of young people is always particularly important to us.”
Young people also helped with the selection process itself, the curators continue: “This year, we were delighted to receive exceptional support from the BLICK´S MAL kids. During their school vacations, they looked at all 18 children's plays on the longlist and then told us in detail about their impressions. This children's perspective is often underrepresented in decision-making processes. This made their assessment all the more valuable for us. Their feedback triggered numerous discussions, which helped us all the more to put together this unique program!”
In terms of content, the final selection covers a wide range of different topics: From war and the conflict within the family and circle of friends, to language and communication, as well as the importance of social media. The audience can expect a wide variety of forms with the large stage, small studio performance, dance, spoken theater and also an interactive production that breaks with the separation of stage and auditorium. In the words of the curators: “We invite you to a festival where we will break the silence and discover new worlds. We will take responsibility and perhaps even trust a wolf. In imaginative stories and adventures, we will explore words and forms, overcome prejudices and negotiate peace. We will laugh, argue and maybe even cause a bit of chaos. We take things into our own hands, make gods wait and free ourselves from everything that doesn't make us happy. And when it rains? Then we get out the umbrellas and just get on with it!”
In the coming months, we will present the individual productions - including assessments by our curators - in detail on this website.
Gerd Taube, festival director and head of the Children's and Youth Theater Centre in Frankfurt am Main, is impressed by the large number of productions submitted for AUGENBLICK MAL! 2025: “The children's and youth theater scene has benefited greatly from the financial opportunities that have been made available to artists during the pandemic. It would be a devastating signal to cut this funding in the future, because in the current political situation, the educational work of theaters is more important than ever before, as it enables young audiences to participate in culture and engage with current issues, thus strengthening our democracy.”
We congratulate the participants of all selected productions and look forward to our time together from May 6-11, 2025 at AUGENBLICK MAL! THE THEATRE FOR YOUNG PUBLIC FESTIVAL in Berlin!