Lessing Days

Under the motto ‘Fantasies of another life’, the international theatre festival LESSINGTAGE will present artistic positions from thirteen fascinating directorial manuscripts from China to Great Britain - from Uzbekistan, Iran and Greece to Ukraine - from 18 January to 4 February 2025.

Festival opening with Ajax and prominent deep-sea explorer

The Lessing Festival opens on 15 January with the world premiere of ‘Ajax and the Swan of Shame’ by Christopher Rüping. Together with the Thalia ensemble, Rüping sheds light on the ‘Ajax complex’ in a contemporary and refreshing context. The Thalia Theatre was able to secure the voice of Germany's best-known marine biologist for the ceremonial opening speech on 19 January: Deep-sea researcher and climate expert Antje Boetius, who believes optimistically in the future of the planet despite gloomy findings. The opening event will also open up new perspectives for sustainable coexistence through numerous initiatives from Hamburg and the surrounding area.

A fascinating spectrum of controversial topics and new theatre forms

The theatre festival includes impressive international guest performances, including the German premieres of ‘Works and Days’ by the Belgian theatre collective FC Bergman, ‘Taverna Miresia’ by Mario Banushi from Greece and ‘Underground Girls’ by Jakub Skrzywanek from Uzbekistan. Other highlights include ‘Akın's Dream’, a guest performance by the Vienna Burgtheater, ‘Blind Runner’ by Amir Reza Koohestani from Iran and ‘How Goes The World’ by Tim Etchells.

The British dancer and choreographer Akram Khan brings a fascinating and magical reinterpretation of the ‘Jungle Book’ - ‘Jungle Book reimagined’ to the Thalia Theatre on 31 January and 1 February. After performances in European cities such as Vienna, Edinburgh and Amsterdam, the work is now also making a stop in Hamburg.

Radically diverse, courageous and innovative

Meng Jinghui, who is regarded as the rock'n'roller of contemporary Chinese director's theatre, brings another guest performance highlight to Hamburg. He will be presenting a European premiere of Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky's famous avant-garde classic ‘The Bug’.

The festival will be accompanied by readings, lectures and discussions, including a reading of Alexei Navalny's letters from prison, a presentation by Stephan Orth on ‘Couchsurfing in Ukraine’ and a discussion with philosopher Kohei Saito on sustainable consumption. The festival will conclude with the ‘Long Night of World Religions’, which will discuss the topic of ‘Religion and Femininity’.