• 1
• 2

• Documentary object theater + Audience Talk
• Transgenerational Trauma
• deportation
• shadow play

• Fr., 30.01.2026, 18:00

Audience Talk following 'To Bear Witness'

A nearly 100-year-old teddy bear and the puppeteer Josephine Hock tell the life story of a jewish child, Irene Grumach-Shirun, within the Nazi era with the means of Documentary object theater. After the Performance there will be an Audience Talk.

• 1Foto ©Constantin Rieß. Josephine Hock is healping BÄR to collect memories from the Nazi era.
• 2 Tim Sandweg, künstlerischer Leiter, Schaubude (ab Spielzeit 2015/16)

The piece shows what is increasingly being suppressed – using a unique aesthetic created on the basis of documentary evidence. The Nazi era, a complex and serious topic ia made accessible and tangible in a sensory way for an audience aged nine and above. Following the performance the audience is invited to join a conversation in spoken English between Jill Levenfeld and dramaturg Tim Sandweg. Jill Levenfeld accompanied Irene Grumach-Shirun during her final years as a volunteer for AMCHA and recorded her life memories. The concept for the production was developed as part of the project “Hakara – Confronting Transgenerational Trauma” by AMCHA Deutschland e.V.

About the Venue

Schaubude Berlin

At Schaubude Berlin, figures and objects stand on stage as the main actors. In guest performances from Germany and abroad, in co-productions, special series and festivals, we show the world from the point of view of things. Our children’s and evening programmes that change weekly invite you to discover the range of contemporary puppet and object theatre. We are particularly interested in the border areas of the genre. That is why there are not only puppeteers on our stage, but also artists from the fields of performance, visual arts, dance and music. Tim Sandweg has been the theatre’s artistic director since 2015. As a venue and production house, Schaubude Berlin has been a cornerstone institution of the city’s independent performing arts since 1993.

https://schaubude.berlin/en/ 

About the Piece

To Bear Witness

Bärchen, or Bär to his buddies, is a teddy bear and is more than 100 years old. His eyes have already seen a whole lot of things. He has already seen very beautiful and very awful moments, for example, when the walls shook because of the bombs. Or when Irene’s grandmother was deported. Up until now, Bär has preferred to avoid these memories. Now, together with us, he enters that have been closed up for a very long time, where important parts of his biography are brought back to life with shadow play and sound. 

About the Artist

Josephine Hock

Josephine Hock (concept, performance) is a puppeteer/puppet maker and theater educator with a focus on documentary theater of objects. Luise Ehrenwerth (concept, scenography, costumes) is a scenographer and costume designer with a focus on the diverse sensory perceptions of scenic spaces and their influence on the people acting within them. Hannes Kapsch (director) is a director, puppeteer, and dramaturg working at the intersection of animation, musical theater, and digitality. Sebastian Schlemminger (sound) works as a sound designer and musician on stage plays, radio plays, and audio walks. Verena Waldmüller (puppet construction) completed her training as a wood sculptor and stage sculptor with a degree in fine arts and works as an artist, sculptor, set designer, and puppet maker. Tim Sandweg (dramaturgy) works as a dramaturg, juror, lecturer, and instructor. He has been the artistic director of Schaubude Berlin since the 2015–16 season.