The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum

About this event

A young housekeeper spends the night with a man she barely knows and wakes up to a full-blown tabloid shitstorm. Heinrich Böll's 1974 novella follows what happens when a newspaper turns Katharina Blum into a public enemy, twisting every fact and destroying her reputation until she sees only one way out. Director Sapir Heller shakes off any dust of the old Bundesrepublik and catapults the story into a glittering, multimedia present. The stage breathes live video, confetti showers and sharp comedy alongside the cruelty: a suspenseful 95 minutes without interval that track how a smear campaign can turn a person into a perpetrator. The cast, led by Sarah Grunert as a restrained but not cold Blum, juggles multiple roles, from slimy journalists to toxic investigators. Stefan Graf, in particular, switches between a smarmy reporter and a parody of today’s influencer culture, poking fun at filter bubbles and like-hunting while showing how little has changed. If you enjoy crisp political theatre that entertains without turning away from the pain underneath, this production hits a nerve.