We are pleased to host Johannes Kirsten, Head Dramaturg at the Maxim Gorki Theater, whose work focuses on documentary theatre, political dramaturgy, and artistic responses to conflict. He has co-developed writing laboratories with authors from Eastern Europe and contributes to interdisciplinary projects that connect activism, memory, and performance.
Also joining the evening is Anahit Ghazaryan, a dramaturg, visual artist, and filmmaker based in Yerevan. Her interdisciplinary practice — spanning photography, documentary theatre, moving image, and feminist research — examines how personal histories intersect with political rupture, particularly in post-Soviet and conflict-driven contexts.
In his lecture Welcome to Reality, Kirsten will discuss how contemporary theatre translates real events into performance and how political crises reshape theatrical form. Focusing on the Maxim Gorki Theater since 2013, he traces its transformation into a post-migrant institution that reflects Berlin’s diverse society through documentary methods, autobiographical storytelling, and collaborations with artists from conflict zones.
After the lecture, Kirsten and Ghazaryan will engage in a public conversation on how theatre continues to reinvent itself in times of conflict and crisis.
The lecture will be held in English with simultaneous translation into Russian and a summary in Armenian.
4 December
19:30–21:00
NPAK, 2025