Hexenjagd (The Crucible)

The true insanity of witch hunts lies in its logic of confessions: If you confess, you turn yourself into a witch, you confirm the rumour – and you call out the names of others. If you stick to the truth, you are hanged. Arthur Miller’s play is based on the witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts, which claimed hundreds of lives in 1692. But it was also written as a response to the McCarthy-era of the early 1950s in the US. By means of the persecution of communists, a social climate of fear was generated which allowed taking action against all critics or anyone who belonged to the opposition. Thus, Miller succeeds in describing a thoroughly contemporary dynamic: When public debates suddenly shift into friend-versus-foe formulas, critics are silenced and courts of justice are instrumentalised, it is the beginning of a dangerous radicalisation.

We regularly present performances of "The Crucible" with English surtitles. You can find the dates here. Our box office staff will be happy to tell you from which seats you will have a good sight-line to the surtitles. For the best view of both stage and surtitles, we recommend seats in the stalls (Parkett) from row 11, or in the balconies (1. Rang, 2. Rang). Seats in the side boxes have a partially obstructed view.