SAN PAOLO – The Martyrdom of Pasolini

The starting point is an unfinished screenplay by the Italian writer and director Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922–1975). In it, Pasolini transposes the story of the Apostle Paul’s conversion into his own time: a persecutor becomes a preacher of the faith. Pasolini turns this into a vision of radical political and personal conversion – from fascist to anti-fascist.

SAN PAOLO brings this vision into the present day. What does conversion mean in the face of resurgent right-wing extremism? How can a person break free from an extremist ideology? And what happens when those who were once persecuted are confronted with those who have renounced their former beliefs?

Under the direction of director David Stöhr and dramaturg Dirk Brauner, the ensemble uses elements of theatre, dance, video and sound art to explore what a Pauline conversion might look like today in the face of resurgent fascism. This creates a theatrical space in which conversion becomes visible as a radical break and an inner division. The production does not seek simple answers or unambiguous characters, but rather the contradictions, ruptures and conditions of a political turnaround. Berlin becomes a unique space of resonance in this context: a city whose history is shaped by resistance to fascism, and which today stands for international diversity and social debate.

Premiere

• Thursday, 29 October 2026, 8.00 pm
• Heizhaus at the Uferstudios Berlin

Starring

Javeh Asefdjah, Jared McNeill, Jules* Elting, Tiziano Portas

Voice: Angela Winkler

Directed by: David Stöhr

Dramaturgy: Dirk Brauner

Set and costume design: Marie-Luce Theis

Video: Sébastien Dupouey

Music/Sound Design: Lasse Winkler

Choreography/Movement Director: Evelin Facchini

Assistant Directors: Jay Mayhew, Alberto Afferni

SAN PAOLO is a production by Dirk Brauner & David Stöhr, funded by the Hauptstadtkulturfonds in collaboration with Theater unterm Dach, in partnership with PSR Collective/Uferstudios GmbH, with the kind support of Silvia Kohlberger & Stefan Detzel

Further performances:

• 30 October to 1 November 2026
• Heizhaus at Uferstudios Berlin