Mülheimer Theatertage celebrate 50 years: Jelinek and new pieces in focus!

Mülheimer Theatertage celebrate 50 years: Jelinek and new pieces in focus!

The Mülheimer Dramatiker Prize, a renowned theater competition in German-speaking countries, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. In this special edition, the piece "Asche" was nominated by the Nobel Laureate Literature Elfriede Jelinek. The performance takes place in the Thalia Theater in Hamburg and will explore the topics of finiteness and transience, which were inspired by the death of Jelinek's husband in 2022. Stephanie Steinberg, the head of the Mülheim Theater Days, presented the program on Wednesday in Mülheim an der Ruhr.

A total of seven new pieces for adults and five for children this year are nominated. The winners are honored in public jury sessions, with both adult and children's competition endowed with 15,000 euros. What is new is that nominees who do not win the price will receive a premium of 3,000 euros. In addition, an audience award of 5,000 euros is awarded.

nominated pieces

The competition takes place between May 10 and 31. He is opened with the award ceremony to last year's winner Sivan Ben Yishai for her play "Nora or how to compost the manor house". The first piece in the current competition, "doping" by Nora Abdel-Maksoud, is also performed during the theater days.

The other nominated pieces are in the competition for adults:

• "Staubfrau" by Maria Milisavljević (Zurich Schauspielhaus)
• "The exemplary life of Samuel W." by Lukas Rietzschel (Gerhart-Hauptmann-Heater Görlitz-Zittau)
• "Ms. Yamamoto is still there" by Dea Loher (Schauspiel Stuttgart)
• "old building in a central location" by Raphaela Bardutzky (Schauspiel Leipzig)
• "They Them Okocha" by Bonn Park (Schauspiel Frankfurt)

• "clean up. A decent piece of chaos" by Tina Müller & Theater Fallalpha, Zurich
• "Pembo. Half and half makes twice happy" by Ayşe Bosse (Hessian State Theater Wiesbaden)
• "T-Rex, are you sad? (Is your T for tears?)" By Fayer Koch (Theater des Junge Welt Leipzig)
• "week - week" by Lara Schützsack (Grips Theater Berlin)
• "Freddie and the whole catastrophe" by Ensemble Mummpitz (Mummpitz Nuremberg Theater)

With the nomination for "ashes", Elfriede Jelinek is now represented in competition for the 23rd time. Her work is very autobiographical and reflects central themes of life and transience, which are particularly relevant in today's theater landscape. Jelinek has already won the award four times, which underlines her outstanding role in the German -speaking theater.

The Mülheim Theater Days, which were launched in 1976, have set themselves the goal of bringing new pieces to the premiere. While around 50 German -language premieres took place in 1976, it is about 250 per season today, which illustrates the vitality and the festival's innovation spirit. The anticipation for the upcoming performances is great and the event promises to become a highlight in the cultural calendar. Deutschlandfunk Kultur reports that the winners are determined during the Mülheim theater days. Welt emphasizes the new price structure, while Zeit emphasized the festive framework of the anniversary event.