evental

Nipple Jesus

took place · 3 Oct 2026

Kulturzentrum GREND, Essen, Germany

theater date culture
Nipple Jesus — Kulturzentrum GREND, Essen
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Description was written before the event

NippleJesus
by Nick Hornby
English translation: Clara Drechsler and Harald Hellmann
Performing rights: Rowohlt Theater Verlag, Hamburg
A collaboration between GRENDTheater and Kunsthaus Essen
Venue: Kunsthaus Essen, Rübezahlstr. 33, 45134 Essen

Some theatre pieces don't belong on a stage - and Nipple Jesus is one of them. Nick Hornby wrote this text in 2002 as a short story; here it is performed amid the changing exhibitions of Kunsthaus Essen, exactly where it belongs.

The story centres on Dave: a former bouncer with a military background, now a custodian at an art museum. His particular task is to guard a highly controversial artwork classified as FSK-18. What begins as personal outrage gradually transforms - Dave evolves from a self-appointed moral guardian into a defender of artistic freedom, until everything takes an unexpected turn.

The monologue combines absurdly comic everyday observations in Hornby's typical style with questions about art, artistic freedom, and its boundaries.