DIE HEXEN VON BERNAU

From the series "Berliner Geschichten"

DIE HEXEN VON BERNAU
On enemy images, the failure of justice, and a crime against humanity

World premiere as part of the festival week HEIMAT_KUNST under the motto "DIE KRAFT DER FRAUEN": Saturday, 13 June 2026, 7:30 pm. Further performance: Sunday, 21 June 2026, 4:00 pm. Duration: approx. 1 hr 45 min. (incl. interval after 45 min.)

From 1617, a wave of persecution sweeps through Bernau near Berlin, during which many innocent people - above all women - are accused of witchcraft. One of them is 70-year-old Dorothea Meermann, arrested for sorcery in the third generation of her family and repeatedly tortured over more than two years. Until her death she insisted she was no witch.

Alina Gause and Carl Martin Spengler move between acting and narration, accompanied by Matthias Behrsing on piano. The production draws on historical research and real fates, asking what an era in which narratives outweigh facts has to do with our present.

With: Alina Gause (acting, singing), Carl Martin Spengler (acting, singing), Matthias Behrsing (piano) - Direction: Alina Gause - Musical direction: Matthias Behrsing - Text: Ildiko Bognar - Set design: Joshua Tewes-McCoy - Costume design: Tatjana Hajdukova - Assistant director: Milena Mielke