Ash

• Theatre

by Elfriede Jelinek / directed by Jette Steckel

“The beauty of theatre, for me, lies in its enhancement of subjective truth. The fact that these truths are the main topic, untouched by the idea of intellectualized equality. Theatre work is like sharing dreams.” Jette Steckel

Before her production of Camus’ “The Stranger” was played more than 70 times at Thalia Gaußstraße, Jette Steckel had already adapted Ilija Trojanow’s novel „Die Welt ist groß und Rettung lauert überall“ for the stage. A poster with this title can still be found hanging in one of the theatre hallways. In the past years, Steckel has worked as a director exclusively for the main stage, Thalia Alstertor, now, she will be returning to Gaußstraße. This time – and for her, the first time – with a play by Elfriede Jelinek, whose work has been shown at Thalia numerous times and in the handwriting of many directors. 

Jelinek’s latest play, “Ash”, is a deeply personal rumination on the loss of a beloved companion, on grief and heartbreak, on the feeling of having lost the world when someone is no longer present, “relocated into Nothingness”. And what happens when simultaneously our world, the planet, seems to be disappearing? The beginning was a thing of beauty. Creation! The splendor of Nature! And now, Nature has turned against us. “Oh my, what bad guests we were! Never quiet, never still!” Earth is crumbling. Its seams are frayed. And a next planet or us to jump on to is nowhere in sight.

Writing, for Elfriede Jelinek, is, as she says, an act of passion, of fury. “Behold, the control desk has slipped me a note: Ashes, ashes everywhere. I had been expecting it. Nonetheless, I will go on, even in the desert, even in the ocean, though not for long, given my poor swimming skills.”

Premiere 12th January 2025, Thalia Gauss