Bärchen, or Bär to his buddies, is a teddy bear and is more than 100 years old. His eyes have already seen a whole lot of things. He has already seen very beautiful and very awful moments, for example, when the walls shook because of the bombs. Or when Irene’s grandmother was deported. Up until now, Bär has preferred to avoid these memories. Now, together with us, he enters that have been closed up for a very long time, where important parts of his biography are brought back to life with shadow play and sound.

The concept for the production was developed as part of the project “Hakara – Confronting Transgenerational Trauma” by AMCHA Deutschland e.V. and was funded by the German Foreign Office.

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

For grades 3-6

Tue+Wed         28.+29.1.          10:45

Workshop

For grades 3 to 6, in conjunction with the performance To Bear witness.

Following the performance, our theater education team is offering a workshop. It will provide space to deepen the impressions, talk about historical contexts and playful reflect upon the means of expression used in the production.

Duration: 60 Minutes

Registration until 27.1. at: theaterpaedagogik@schaubude.berlin

Winner of the IKARUS Expert Jury 2025 in the category Children’s Theater

Jury statement:

"Puppeteer Josephine Hock, together with scenographer Luise Ehrenwerth and director Hannes Kapsch's team, has made Irene Grumach-Shirun's nearly 100-year-old teddy bear her playmate. […] Together, the bear and the puppeteer tell Irene's life story. They show what is increasingly being suppressed – and they do so for an audience aged nine and above. The jury was particularly impressed by the fact that the Nazi era is made tangible for primary school children and that a unique aesthetic is created on the basis of documentary evidence. [...] The concentrated silence during the performances, the long applause, and the lively questions show that "To Bear Witness" reaches its audience and makes a complex, serious topic accessible in a sensory way."