Welcome to the 25/26 season

Dear audience,

you could compare a season programme to a map of unknown territory, especially the first one under a new artistic director. What matters is to set out on a journey together and to fill the milestones with genuine experiences. With our first season programme for Thalia Theater, we present you with an invitation to vibrant stories and sparkling imagery, with the human being always at the centre. We want to celebrate with you during the opening week at Gerhart-Hauptmann-Platz, the relaunched Lessingtage festival, the extended Nachbarşchaften festival and the new studio stage BOX in Gaußstraße – not to mention after every single opening night. Let's come together!

Visitors to Hamburg are struck by the beauty, cosmopolitanism and contradictions of this city. Its extraordinarily diverse and vibrant urban culture inspires and encourages alliances. At the same time, there are concerns and imbalances that need the attention of us all, that need to be reflected upon and dealt with.

What kind of theatre does this city long for? What stories arises from within? The urban community is endlessly diverse, and Thalia Theater wants to open itself up to this kaleidoscope of emotions and experiences. Especially now, in a time of deception, fear-mongering and a reflex to distance oneself, direct contact between people is fundamental. The dialogue between different perspectives on our world and our society is important. Counter-narratives that appeal to human dignity and encourage respect and tolerance are necessary. As open spaces for art and discussion, theatres must and wish to provide all of this.

We are committed to theatre as a collaborative centre of creativity and have joined forces with cultural institutions in Hamburg and beyond: Groningen, Recklinghausen, Winterthur and Zurich are joining us on our journey through our first season. Our programme is as colourful as our society, driven by the anarchic energy of humour and strong passions. The characters on stage, who rarely follow the rules of the game, speak of the complexity of the human being, of its struggle to be seen, to be recognised and to be loved.

This season, you will get to know a new ensemble, whose portraits can also be found in our magazine, which is available for free in our foyers. 18 new faces meet 18 familiar ones. This is exciting for us, for you and for the 386 employees of Thalia Theater, who lovingly and professionally make the complex art of theatre possible every evening.
 

»It is our responsibility to express what kind of world we want. We have to make it clear why a society based on solidarity and friendship, a world without hatred and violence, is better than a world of competition, hierarchies, intellectual isolation and closed borders, a world of racist fantasies of purity, of nationalism and war.« We are happy to join author Franziska Schutzbach in her appeal for more solidarity and warmly invite you to explore new ideas with us. It will be interesting to see where we end up together in the unknown landscape that we are mapping out on this website.

Sonja Anders and team