Tanztreffen der Jugend: Die Ermittlung – nach Peter Weiss

Production and Cast

The 1965 play by playwright Peter Weiss addresses the first Frankfurt Auschwitz trial, which took place from 1963 to 1965. Weiss himself attended the trial as a member of the public and developed his play from the transcripts produced during the proceedings. The result is eleven “songs”—so called because the language of the trial transcripts has been set to a rhythmic structure. These symbolically trace the victims’ journey from the ramp to the crematoria.

Defendants, witnesses, and prosecutors (the latter anonymized by Peter Weiss) interact in each of the individual songs. The text is closely based on historical sources. Weiss refrains from interpretive intervention and limits himself to structuring and giving rhythm to the material. This rhythmic treatment does not aestheticize the brutality of what is said, but rather lays it bare.

Our version of the play focuses on the first canto—the canto of the ramp. The production follows a choreographed, text-reduced, and choral approach. Selected passages from the text serve as a guide to central themes such as accusation, guilt, and the denial thereof. In this way, we explore the mechanisms of self-exoneration and the relativization of one’s own actions, while also asking where hope might lie today in light of what has happened.

The group met primarily on weekends for over a year and a half to rehearse. Finding the right tone and the right tone for this play was an important process for everyone. Ultimately, telling a story of relevance together was a very important experience for us.

By and with

• Pierre Azar, Gwen Bauer, Sophie Goppert, Jonathan Hau, Luisa Ott, Dominik Prade, Christa Röscher, Bastian Seelmann, Ivan Taran, Vincent Ummenhofer, Adrian Weigel, Tymofi Zahkvataiev
• Philip Hemmer, Marek Rodatos – Technical Support
• Marc Eichhorn, Jasmin Casimiro Ribeiro, Dominik Stoecker – Direction