MUTTERS COURAGE - Post-show Discussion with Martin Ulmer (Geschichtswerkstatt); Introduction to the Play 19:30

by George Tabori

From 17 September 2026 | Introduction to the play: 19:30 | Post-show discussion with Martin Ulmer (Geschichtswerkstatt)

George Tabori had a keen sense of wit in the context of horror, of the absurd twist in the realm of evil. In "Mutters Courage" he tells the story of a sixty-year-old Jewish woman who was arrested on the street in Budapest in 1944 and deported with 4,030 others in cattle cars to Auschwitz - and was the only one to survive. This impossible story is true: Elsa Tabori lived it, her son wrote it down.

Since then it has been part of the permanent collection of oral history - for those who believe that history cannot simply be "left behind". According to a 2015 survey, 81% of Germans would gladly do so regarding the Holocaust. "Of course: the Germans will never forgive us Jews for Auschwitz" - so said Israeli psychoanalyst Zwi Rex.

Tabori's tribute to his mother is, in a broader sense, a tribute to all mothers whose courage, wit, and will to live helped their children overcome their own trauma. The production has been performed over 170 times in the past 30 years, including in New York and Los Angeles.

Premiere: 13 September 2025 | Revival: 17 September 2026

Cast
Elsa Tabori: Sigrun Schneider-Kaethner
George Tabori: Thomas Bockelmann

Direction: Thomas Bockelmann | Set design: Pia Janssen | Costumes: Ursina Zürcher | Music: Erich Radke | Dramaturgy: Michael Volk