FAUST by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is the classic among classics and the most important play in German literature. Since its premiere in 1829, it has moved audiences like no other play; none has been thought, written and taught about more. And yet the fascination that emanates from this epochal text never wanes and the catastrophe it describes never lets go of its audience.

Heinrich Faust no longer sees any attraction in life. For the eternal researcher, science becomes boring, mere existence an unbearable affront. In his longing for intoxication and ecstasy, he makes a pact with the devil. He promises Mephisto his soul - if he frees him from the tedium of everyday life and helps him to push the boundaries of what is humanly possible. A fast-paced trip into the sensual world begins. When Faust meets the innocent Margarete and seduces her with Mephisto's help, disaster strikes and the girl is destroyed.

Performing Goethe's FAUST as prison theater - it requires us to endure a bitter judgement of the present: “Look at this Dr. Heinrich Faust and see how he pursues his self-empowerment, obsessed with violence and intoxication. The world? In the end, it is what hurts. Gretchen - seduced and betrayed - speaks the wisest sentence: “Heinrich, I dread you!”

The aufBruch ensemble, consisting of ex-prisoners, released prisoners and two actresses, follows this verdict and is performing Goethe's masterpiece this summer on the overgrown Gustav Böß open-air stage in Jungfernheide. Man wants to explore “what holds the world together at its core”. Because of this exploration, he invented revenge and robbery, invented crime, and every place is in danger of becoming a crime scene. Faust is the self-indulgent perpetrator who wants one thing above all: to throw himself “into the rush of time,/ into the roll of events”. aufBruch players know this. In every ambition to win there is greed, in every greed there is transgression. The ultimate thrill may be a great reward, but how high is the price of going too far...

An open-air production by aufBruch KUNST GEFÄNGNIS STADT in cooperation with the Kulturbiergarten Jungfernheide.

The play will be performed by a mixed ensemble of day-release prisoners, former prisoners, actors and Berlin citizens: Andreas Thomas, Baker, Christian Krug, Jimmy Juma, Juliette Roussennac, Maja Borm, Matthias Blocher, Max Sonnenberg, Mohamad Koulaghassi, Mladen S., Nehad Fandi, Özcan, Oliver, Sadam, Steffen.

Director Peter Atanassow Stage design Holger Syrbe Costume design Haemin Jung Dramaturgy Franziska Kuhn, Hans-Dieter Schütt Musical coach Vsevolod Silkin Production management Sibylle Arndt Assistant director Luzie Konermann Production assistance Jessica Schallat Costume assistance Anna Ohlendorf Internship David Zaldivar Hanke Technicians Lilith Kautt Graphic design Dirk Trageser

Funded by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion
Supported by Kulturbiergarten Jungfernheide, JVA OV Berlin, JVA Tegel, JVA Plötzensee, Bezirksamt Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz