Treffen junge Szene
Production
TRAUER//FALL
POLYLUX, Schauspiel Köln
North Rhine-Westphalia
TRAUER//FALL, POLYLUX, Schauspiel Köln © Viktoria Gurina
Over the course of a lifetime, a person sheds around five million tears – roughly 80 litres, about half a bathtub full. Tears are only a small, visible part of the grieving process: a process of coming to terms with life’s changes and piecing together a new sense of self. Along the way, we stumble over memories and our own bodies. Between sorrow and comfort, anger and acceptance, POLYLUX searches for a collective way to encounter grief – and to discover within it something that can move us.
Over the course of a lifetime, a person sheds around five million tears – roughly 80 litres, about half a bathtub full. Tears are only a small, visible part of the grieving process: a complex process in which we try to come to terms with change and piece together a new sense of self. We stumble over memories that had already begun to fade. We stumble over our own bodies, which can suddenly feel unfamiliar.
How can sadness and comfort be reconciled? Where does the anger over a loss reside, and how do we eventually reach acceptance? When something disappears, have we truly lost it – or merely misplaced the memory of it?
The young people of POLYLUX explore, through language, dance and performance, a collective way of engaging with grief and discovering within it something that can move us.
POLYLUX originated as part of a “Kultur macht stark” project and, since 2024, has become the permanent youth theatre club for 13–18-year-olds at the Schauspiel Köln. Drawing on the participants’ everyday lives, perspectives and questions about society, the group collaboratively develops and stages theatre productions. The young people write texts, create scenes and devise movement sequences, resulting each year in a new work focused on different themes.
These productions are included in the theatre’s programme and are presented both as morning performances for school audiences – accompanied by workshops – and as part of the regular evening schedule. POLYLUX aims to provide as safe a space as possible, in which young people can experiment with artistic ideas, explore physical forms of expression, engage in political discussion and develop personally at their own pace. The youth club opens its doors to new participants each year.
Jury statement
Grief can behave like a sheet of plastic film: translucent, yet still a layer that separates us from what lies beneath, that covers something up. It marks a process in which something is tangibly changing. At times it accompanies us quietly through everyday life; at others, it wraps itself around the body completely.
Perhaps we want to let go of it at some point – but who could take it from us? Is that even possible? It helps when there is a hand to hold us. In the production TRAUER//FALL, there is such a hand – a large one. Perhaps as large as all our hands put together? Through sensuous, movement-rich images, the performers approach a life-altering experience.
TRAUER//FALL is compelling in its multi-layered and deeply moving exploration of grief as both a personal and a political emotion. From a youthful perspective and with a clear sense of purpose, the diverse ensemble develops a strong urgency in performance, offering an impressive insight into how many young people feel. Particularly effective is the way personal biographical experiences are woven in without exposing the performers – instead, what emerges is an honest, relatable and courageous stage presence.
Following the five stages of grief, the ensemble explores the emotion in depth: what do we grieve for individually and collectively? Who is given space to grieve? Is grief a privilege? Where is there a lack of a culture of mourning, and what could such a culture achieve?
Personal reflections on grief, alongside performative moments such as a powerful monologue on anger, create lasting, goosebump-inducing impressions. German remembrance culture is put to the test: when does a personal loss take on collective significance? Where do power structures determine whether grief is acknowledged or denied? Particularly striking is the chorus that poses the question, “Germany, why don’t you weep?” – a powerful, resonant moment that encapsulates the emotional and political dimension of the piece. In doing so, the production succeeds in transforming individual grief into a political concern.
TRAUER//FALL is a remarkable evening of theatre, striking a fine balance between strong imagery, thoughtful questions, necessary demands, moving insights and moments of gently comforting togetherness.
Rieke Oberländer and Estera Sara Stan
With
Sage Bongard, Amélie Bos, Siyana Boukari, Bilge Cin, Hannah Finkernagel, André Frey, Lilian Friebe, Martha Hellenkemper, Manjusha Hirschberg, Ari Kraegeloh, Lotta Schablitzki, Katja Schäfer, Hilde Wawro, Abas Zafarzai
Dana Khamis, Judith Niggehoff – Direction
Hedda Ladwig – Stage
Nele Henrich – Costumes
Sage Bongard, Ronja Simon – Assistant direction
Stanislav Semeniuk – Lighting
Britta Tekotte – Vocal training
Elias Bodemer – Video