Since 1989 he has been on stage. First in an ensemble and for over twenty years as a soloist. During this time, Matthias Brodowy has released ten solo programs. The essence of these is showcased in his best-of program: a fast-paced one-man show, a riding spree with loud and soft tones, straddling the line between literary cabaret, devoted silliness, and a lot of music. He takes the audience from the psychedelic-apocalyptic 1970s wallpaper and the Hanimex mini-pocket camera into the digital here and now, and simultaneously back to the deepest Middle Ages. Musically, the journey goes from the North Sea beach over Tierra del Fuego to the revival of the long-lost only Mozart opera on the theme of obesity, Don Sarotti. The "representative for elevated nonsense" does full justice to his self-chosen professional title with this evening. Matthias Brodowy was awarded the cabaret prize "Das schwarze Schaf" in 1999 by Hanns Dieter Hüsch and the German small arts prize in 2013. Most recently, he received the "Gaul von Niedersachsen" in 2020.

Doors open at 7:00 PM

The event has unfortunately been canceled.

What if the economic miracle after World War II had not taken place in Germany, but in Turkey instead? What if German guest workers had helped to rebuild Turkey – and not the other way around? This exciting thought experiment forms the basis of the play.

In scenes in German and songs in Turkish, "Istanbul" tells a tragicomic story of the search for happiness, love, and home. The songs of Sezen Aksu, the founder and Grande Dame of Turkish pop, serve as inspiration for the play.

2024-09-29_The Eternal Snob

2024-11-30_Mindfully Murdering

2025-02-15_Things I Know for Sure

2025-03-22_Rent a Friend

2025-04-26_Waiting for the Bus

Mr. Pommeroi, Admiral von Sneider, Sir Toby and Mr. Winterbottom are just as dead as they were 10 years later.
Miss Sophie makes another attempt to come to terms with reality on her birthday before she then shares her life in the past with them.
Together with the wives of her former lovers, she spends an enjoyable evening where not only the original causes of death of the men are discussed... Butler James has broken his leg from a fall over Tiger Jones. Society lady Janet and cook Maria complete the septet.

Admission: 7:45 PM

Unfortunately, the event is cancelled.

Please note: This concert is not seated (standing room only!).

Pop Goes Big!
Stefanie Heinzmann

This year, we invite an artist onto the stage with us who has called it her home for the last 16 years. At just 18, Stefanie Heinzmann won Stefan Raab´s "SSDSDSSWEMUGABRTLAD" and is one of the few show winners who managed to become an established singer on the German music scene. Today, her music oscillates somewhere between pop, dance and soul.

With "My Man is a Mean Man," the Swiss artist landed her first hit in 2008 and shortly thereafter signed a record deal. Following the success of her first album, which earned her Gold status, she has released five more albums in recent years, accumulated over 50 million streams, and received awards such as the ECHO and most recently the Swiss Music Award for Best Female Act. We look forward to presenting the songs of the "Swiss Joss Stone" in a big band style!

Concert duration: about 90 minutes – without a break!

Doors open: 19:00 After the concert begins, there is no entitlement to enter the hall.

Eight Classical Concerts

Tickets may still be available at local box offices or at the door.

Four Imaginary Boys - Germany's most booked The Cure Tribute Band - consists of four dedicated musicians who have been passionately devoted to The Cure's entire body of work since 2006, paying homage to the spirit of the legendary wave gods.

When one thinks of The Cure, one thinks of Robert Smith's unmistakable and inimitable voice. Imitation or even parody are out of the question, it's fortunate that the frontman of Four Imaginary Boys seems to be a vocal kindred spirit.
However, Four Imaginary Boys are not aiming to be mere clones of their heroes. What is much more important to them is to create the unique atmosphere of Cure songs with atmospheric sounds and sonic landscapes, and to convey it to the audience. Therefore, the true stars of the evening are the timeless songs of The Cure, which have influenced generations of Gothic/Alternative/Pop bands to this day.

Doors open: 7:00 PM

Welcome to the realm of knowledge in the Baroque era: Stepping onto creaking floorboards into the quiet grandeur of our historical library hall, one is immediately enveloped by the collective knowledge of the Early Modern period. Like stage sets in a Baroque theater, the original bookshelves jut into the space, housing around 50,000 books from all fields of knowledge. Behind unassuming book spines lie remarkable treasures, such as the first German Bible printed in America.

At the end of the 17th century, the orphanage's library was established as one of the first public libraries in Germany. Primarily through donations, book exchanges, and their own publications, the library grew so rapidly that within a few years, it was comparable to significant German university libraries. In 1728, it received its own building, which is considered the oldest surviving secular library structure in Germany. Not only in recent times has the library been visited by guests and researchers from around the world: Albrecht von Haller, Johann Joachim Winckelmann, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe all admired its bibliophilic treasures. We present a selection of them for you in rotating cabinet exhibitions in the former reading room of the library.

10 am - 5 pm

The Art and Natural History Chamber is considered the oldest German museum room. It was established by August Hermann Francke for educational purposes and is now once again set up according to the original museum concept of the 18th century in its historical location in the attic of the Historical Orphanage.

Eighteen richly decorated collection cabinets house approximately 3000 natural specimens, curiosities, and artifacts. They provide a unique impression of a Baroque cabinet of curiosities. Unlike modern museums, the chamber follows an encyclopedic collecting approach. A distinction is made between natural specimens and artifacts. The natural specimens are divided into rocks, plants, and animals, while the artifacts are categorized into visual arts, calligraphy, coins, everyday culture, and clothing. The goal was to create a mirror image of the world: a microcosm that made the macrocosm as the wonderful creation of God tangible.

In a series of events, art projects take place around the Art and Natural History Chamber. In the so-called "Contemporary Reflections on the Art and Natural History Chamber," foundations invite artists to engage in an artistic dialogue with the chamber.

Detailed information

Tue-Sun 10am-5pm

Palace-like, the orphanage rises on Franckeplatz. Then as now, it is the centerpiece of the Francke Foundations. Erected in 1698 as the first building of the school city, it represents a new facet of European Baroque, combining confident representation without extravagant ornamentation and setting the tone for orphanage architecture.

Today, the orphanage is our museum and cultural center. Right from the start, two permanent exhibitions guide you through the history of the foundation and the global impact of Pietism. On the first floor, the former prayer and singing hall surprises with its bright architecture. Today, it enjoys an excellent reputation as a concert hall due to its fantastic acoustics. In the adjacent conference rooms, a photo exhibition showcases the impressive renovation work since the foundations were reestablished in 1991. The second floor is reserved for our changing special exhibitions, which provide insight into important themes of the foundation's history from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Passing through the art and natural history collections in the attic, you reach the balcony via a narrow wooden staircase. Here, a wide view opens up over the impressive ensemble with school buildings from three centuries. There is also a splendid panorama of the Old Town of Halle from here. In the basement, children can explore their own paths in the Krokoseum.

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

What power does the word have? For Halleschen Pietismus, the word was of central importance. On the ground floor of the Historical Orphanage, we show you how August Hermann Francke's reform movement could spread around the world.

Francke developed central reformative goals of Martin Luther's with Halleschen Pietismus. His approach was as clear as it was revolutionary: Every person should find God through their own Bible reading. However, for this to happen, everyone - boys and girls alike - had to learn to read, everyone should be able to afford their own Bible and it should be printed in their own native language. Therefore, Francke established schools for all social classes, printed millions of German-language People's Bibles, and created an international network through which the Bible was translated into many other languages. His educational initiative allowed a broad population to engage with the word. In the 18th-century evangelical parsonages, the authors of the Romantic and Enlightenment periods were highly regarded. A culture of self-reflection spread in Pietism, which was reflected in diaries and personal testimonies, giving us remarkable insights into the spiritual life of people of that time. Symbolically, the power of the word is also evident in the meticulously restored pulpit from the Church of St. Ulrich in Halle, where Francke preached from 1715 and which you can admire in the exhibition.

10:00 am - 5:00 pm

4 talers and 16 groschen are considered the founding capital of the Francke Foundations. How an unparalleled school city grew from this unexpected donation to a simple pastor in Glaucha can be discovered on the ground floor of the Historical Orphanage. A multimedia installation and numerous extraordinary objects will transport you into the fascinating founding and impact history of Francke's work. Because what began with a school for the poor and an orphanage, developed in a few decades into a true reform project that was based on education: Over 2,000 students learned in various schools, specially constructed economic buildings, a hospital, and a pharmacy guaranteed the care of over 3,000 people on the premises, unique cultural-historical collections in the library and chamber of wonders were established, and Francke's ideas were spread within and outside Europe. August Hermann Francke wanted nothing less than a "world change through personal change." Discover everything he set in motion through this.

10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Christine Prayon: Farewell Tour

You want to know what you're getting for your money here? Of course, happy to oblige. (Reading time: 9 seconds)

Christine Prayon will not do cabaret in the conventional sense; she is no longer interested in mere critique of the existing without simultaneously discussing alternatives and utopias. She also believes that it is time to save the world, but she cannot do it alone. By the way, what she absolutely cannot and even less wants to do is sit at the piano and sing about so-called women's issues; she is completely the wrong person for that. If you expect that, you will be sorely disappointed. So, instead, expect nothing, because your viewing habits will be subverted anyway. Oh, and by the way, Birte Schneider is also not on stage tonight. Who is she anyway?

Now you already know what you won't get. That's a lot by today's standards. Speaking of which: Enjoy the show!

Christine Prayon, also known as Birte Schneider from the "heute show," has won numerous awards, including the German Cabaret Award and the German Cabaret Prize.

Doors open: 7:00 PM

Unobtrusive, shy, natural. No idea who is meant, but not Pam Pengco, because she doesn't hold back.

Witty, dry, open, and authentic, the Drag Queen presents her first full-length solo program "Ich entschuldige mich im Voraus!"

From absurd life wisdom and musical delicacies, to quirky anecdotes paired with a touch of unrest, Pam defies several clichés and continually involves the audience with her spontaneity and improvisational talent. Front row, your own fault!

Out of everyday life and into a world full of glamour, high heels, and dirty secrets. Those who have never come into contact with drag may get a chance to touch here, turning every evening into an unforgettable experience.

Doors open at 7:00 PM

Unfortunately, the event has been canceled.

Opening: Friday, 25.01., 7 PM

In last seen recently partly confrontational, partly poetic works are presented that try to hold on to something or retell the past. From photography and film to video game and performance to diverse spatial installations, the artists use these media to address questions of human memory culture and perception of reality. Who tells the past? How is memory manipulated? When does memory harm us? And how does one deal with the accompanying emotions?

Several artists embark on a quest for traces in their own childhood and family. They unveil universal patterns of power and relationship, such as love withdrawal and loneliness in contrast to tender community. Elsewhere, the inner child dies, the loss of which is entirely different from that of a real lover. This too finds its place in the exhibition. For example, when the digital continuation of a person complicates the farewell. A whole identity in the digital space – or packed into a suitcase.

The exhibition invites visitors into a tension field of intimacy and publicity. Monuments meet fragile minds. The monuments are meant to immortalize. Yet they are unstable.

All artists in alphabetical order:
Eva Bruno
Jonathan Flohr
Paula Freitag
Mael Glass
Max Grund
Yuxiao Huang
Hana Kawanishi
Josefine Kröll / saint josy
Pyunghwa Lee
Yijiang Liu
Hannah Meiers
Lisa Mukhina
Ruben Sabel
Leon Sahiti
Jamie Yzabel Santos
Benjamin Schlemmer
Caroline Schlingemann

Thu–Sun, 2–6 PM

Recomposition by The McDaniel Brothers for the Staatstheater Cottbus

The eerie fairy tale by E.T.A. Hoffmann tells of the student Nathanael, who is haunted by a severe trauma from his childhood. A series of strange events occur, seemingly connected to the death of Nathanael's father. The Sandman appears, sometimes as a demon, sometimes as an invention of Nathanael's childlike self. Nathanael seems to succumb to madness, falls in love with a doll, and ultimately ends in tragic suicide.

E.T.A. Hoffmann is considered one of the most significant representatives of German Romanticism. Especially through his mystically eerie narratives, of which DER SANDMANN is probably the most well-known, he gained posthumous worldwide fame in the mid-19th century. In Cottbus, the stage adaptation by the American composer duo The McDaniel Brothers, choreographer Alessia Ruffolo, and co-theater director Philipp Rosendahl combines the mediums of acting, music, and dance. Following the traces of the unconscious, this recomposition explores the boundaries of the sayable, perceivable, and representable in dreamily branched images.

This work is created as a cross-genre project between theater and ballet as well as Cottbus musicians.

Two gay boys from the countryside move, slightly staggered, into the big city. One becomes one of the most successful comic book artists in the country, while the other becomes a bestselling author and stand-up comedian. The two get to know each other, one says: "Let's do something together," the other takes it seriously and boom: Here they are on stage presenting the best from their seemingly unmanageable body of work. An evening full of comics and tragedies, full of bulbous noses and cranes, with hero stories and dog anecdotes - well, and one or two penises will probably also be involved. There will be chatting, reading, drawing, and performing - And the audience will quickly realize: These two should do stuff together much more often!

Foyer and bar open from 6:00 PM. Admission to the hall from 6:30 PM.

El Mago Masin has broken up. With his El. What remains of the comedian are his long hair, his guitar, and his quirky humor – so it’s quite possible that he just sits in the audience to sing a song from their perspective. Mago Masin actually wanted to name his new program “Adventures in Dachshund Factory,” which seemed only logical after “Final Destination Ornamental Fish Breeding” and "Operation Donkey Ear." But now the show is called “Kleinkunstflieger,” which is no less consistent. Mago Masin is the personification of confusion, who can’t find the light switch; he is a word acrobat who always adds a twist, a turn, a surprising moment to his songs. And above all, he is a master of improvisation. Anyone wanting to escape the everyday can come by, buckle up, and take off with Mago Masin and his new “Kleinkunstflieger.”

Reduced admission for students, trainees, Bufdis, FSJ/FÖJ participants, and Alg. II recipients at the box office starting at the beginning of the event.

Box office surcharge: Mgl: 1.50 € / Nmgl: 2.00 €

Photo: Arne Marenda