In his play "Kinder der Sonne" ("Children of the Sun") from 1905, Maxim Gorki describes a group of Russian intellectuals who have become alienated from the people and from real life.
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Grafik Header Spielzeit 25/26
While the working class wishes for the fall of the tsarist regime, they immerse themselves in books, art and love affairs. 120 years later, the situation seems different: a large part of intellectual life is concerned with moral injustices and the future. Researchers working on the climate, migration and the economy fight to be listened to, while – from the top down – funding is being cut. Even those who belong to the educated classes can barely afford rent in the city centres anymore.
- So what is education worth now in society?
- And what significance does it have for political processes?
- Or has the academic world lost its capacity to engage in social participation in the ivory tower?
Jakob Nolte's version renovates this classic from the ground up and pushes it in the direction of a screwball comedy. His characters struggle their way through a world that is threatened with disappearance or has already imperceptibly disappeared. Armed with not much more than their vocabulary and a little dignity.
The last production directed by Laura Linnenbaum at the Berliner Ensemble was the world premiere of Tena Stivičić's "Die Verstreuten" ("The Scattered"). Her work is characterised by dense atmospheres and sociopolitical perspectives. "Kinder der Sonne" is Linnenbaum's second collaboration with the playwright and novelist Jakob Nolte, who recently shook up the regional crime fiction genre with his noir thriller "Die Frau mit den vier Armen" ("The Woman with the Four Arms").
- Premiere: February 21, 2026
Additional information
Ghosts of the PresentA house with an open garden gate, probably on the outskirts of Berlin. A house that has long been inhabited by an intellectual spirit that is noticeably disappearing. The Fürst family has lived here for generations, while others come and go. Its residents: Paul Fürst, a literature professor whose insights into humanity are increasingly falling on deaf ears. Jelena, his wife, an unemployed humanities scholar who, in the hope of being seen, has her portrait painted by an artist in lengthy sessions. Her sister-in-law Lisa, who has suffered a great, unhealed loss and only comes to life when the vet comes to visit. And the nanny Antonia Markova, who is actually long superfluous but for some mysterious reason does not want to leave the house. Those who belong to the circle are invited to Easter brunch, while the repairman has to come and get the fan working again for the group heatedly discussing our future. Because it is extremely hot, there are even reports of approaching fires—and everyone clings all the more tightly to their glasses of crémant. The most pressing questions seem to be: Who will bring ice cubes to cool us down? And is the repairman possibly a right-wing extremist? Ultimately, the power of capital brings about a surprising change in the swirling circumstances. Jakob Nolte brings Maxim Gorky's "Children of the Sun" into our present, laconically driving the material into comedy and asking what role the educated middle class still plays in the politically explosive processes of our society. Laura Linnenbaum stages this society as one that is already homeless, settling on a long-burnt earth while basking only in the light of spotlights. By Amely Joana Haag
Participating artists
Von Jakob Nolte nach Maxim Gorki (Autor/in)
Marc Oliver Schulze (Paul Fürst, Dozent)
Pauline Knof (Jelena Fürst, seine Frau)
Lili Epy (Lisa Fürst, seine Schwester)
Maeve Metelka (Antonia Markova, Au-pair)
Bettina Hoppe (Melanija Schmitt, Unternehmerin)
Jannik Mühlenweg (Nils Lund, Künstler)
Sebastian Zimmler (Malte Keller, Tierarzt)
Maximilian Diehle (Roman Gauner, Zimmermann)
Oliver Kraushaar (Herr Block, Vermieter)
Laura Linnenbaum
Daniel Roskamp
Michaela Kratzer
David Kosel
Mario Seeger
Amely Joana Haag
