Humor as a Lifeline

Bautzen 2024/2025




At the Bautzen Puppet Theatre, director Tim Heilmann stages George Tabori's blackly humorous play "Mein Kampf". Unlike Hitler's book of the same name, the theater piece tells an absurd, bitterly sharp story about young Hitler in a men's dormitory in 1910s Vienna. The plot is accompanied by Jewish roommates, grotesque encounters, and the dark metaphor of a stove.

Using three skillfully operated puppets (Hitler, Frau Tod, Himmlisch) and a powerful ensemble, Heilmann makes a provocative statement against right-wing shifts and forgetting history. All this in the midst of saxon Bautzen, where right-wing tendencies are strongly felt. The production consistently plays to a sold-out audience and encourages reflection and discussion through accompanying introductions. Tim Heilmann, former Berlin-based director, sets an artistic and political sign with this production. For him, theater is not only art, but also empathy, reflection, and resistance.







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2026
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