This blog was created as part of a field trip to the international festival Theater der Welt in Chemnitz, in collaboration with students from the Institute for Theater Studies at Freie Universität Berlin and the Department of Theater Theory and Criticism at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, from 25.-29. June 2026.
The blog is for the students to experiment, share their thoughts and express their opinions about the performances, plays and workshops they saw or participated in as part of the excursion. The blog includes theater reviews, interviews, think pieces, essays and other formats, such as ‘Shorts’, brief individual reviews, expressing first feelings and thoughts about each project.
Before the four-day visit at Theater der Welt, the students have discussed in seminar sessions at each university the history of Theater der Welt, the theatre of Chemnitz and the influence of an international theatre festival on a city. The focus on these topics and the attendance during performances, talks and debates contributed to the development of the posts on this blog.
The visit to the European Capital of Culture 2025 was in the last week of June, when Germany faced a heatwave with temperatures reaching almost 40 degrees. One question that arose indirectly was, therefore, how a group of 30 people could enjoy and discuss their shared interest together despite the heat. Seeking out cool spots, shortening our discussions, and slipping out of sweltering theater spaces has made the own responsibility crystal clear, but also calls into question the practice of scheduling theater festivals during the summer months.
In closing, we would like to note that the variety of the performances we saw, the diversity of our texts, and the different perspectives from which we approached theater helped us broaden our horizons not only in the field of theater, but also in our understanding of interpersonal relationships, mutual cooperation, and the significance of cultural contexts.
Kato Maes and Daniel Dudek
The cooperation was made possible by
and organised by Radka Kunderová (DAMU Prague) and Thekla Neuß (FU Berlin)
Image in Header: Parole d’Eau/Water Worlds © Djarama et Motus