"In the world of spirits, everything is connected."

Puppet, figure and object theater has always been excited about spiritual creatures. That isn’t particularly surprising: after all, the spirit, or the soul, is already found in the term “animation” and thus is able to bring objects to life.

In its 2024 edition, Theater der Dinge turns its gaze toward a variety of social fields and problems with the figure of the spirits: to what extent do hauntings have to do with the global economy, exploitation or power relationships? With what repressed trauma and fears do ghosts confront us? And can we use animist ideas to develop our contemporary living reality between ecological disaster and digital transformation?

At the center of the 2024 edition of Theater der Dinge is the performative exhibition Geisterhaus, or Haunted House, which Schaubude Berlin has developed together with Berlin-based artists and which is located at the interface between the performing arts and the visual arts. This parkour through all of the rooms at Schaubude Berlin features new works between performance and installation by Atif Mohammed Nour Hussein, Neïtah Janzing, dem KMZ Kollektiv, Robin Leveroos, Esther Nicklas, alpha kartsaki, Grit Wendicke and Naoko Tanaka.

In addition, the festival will also present the German-language premiere of the large-format installation Dimionis by the Catalan duo cabosanroque, the premiere of the new mask-beatbox piece by Theater Strahl, directed by Michael Vogel, international guest performances and an audience development program.

Notes on accessibility: Information about the accessibility of the venue in structural terms can be found here.