You can see 4 different people. The focus is on a man sitting at a reception desk. Behind him, separated by a wall, is another man. He is in an office that can be seen. In front of him is a table with an open file on it. The man appears to be having a conversation.

Photo: Gabriela Neeb

MK:

WoW – Word on Wirecard

A Play by Anka Herbut

 Therese-Giehse-Halle

 World premiere

 Opening night: 19.11.2023

 2 hours 50 minutes with intermission

 English surtitles

 Strobe effects, loud music

 Thu-Sat: 25€, Sun-Mi 20€, under 30 years: 10€





 Therese-Giehse-Halle

 World premiere

 Opening night: 19.11.2023

 2 hours 50 minutes with intermission

 English surtitles

 Strobe effects, loud music

 Thu-Sat: 25€, Sun-Mi 20€, under 30 years: 10€

A contemporary dystopian financial thriller. — Cinematic images and a shaking sound challenge the limits of our perception

Following his spectacular installation “Respublika”, rising Polish star Łukasz Twarkowski creates another of his masterful dramatic worlds poised between film and stage.

Working with the playwright Anka Herbut, Twarkowski tackles the bizarre story of the collapse of the Munich financial service provider Wirecard. The biggest financial scandal in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany revolves around virtual billions in turnover and the seductive fantasy of a world-class German tech giant which ultimately sought to play in the Champions League of Silicon Valley. The play with different levels of reality became a frequently used motif in utopian-fantastic stories in the 1960s. Daniel F. Galouye had already foreseen a “world on the wire” in his novel “Simulacron - 3”, first published in the USA in 1964: The struggle of the individual against a seemingly omnipotent faceless system that makes the individuals living within it dance like puppets on a wire. A political parable of timeless validity that can be found in film adaptations of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s “World on a Wire” and “Starship Enterprise - The Next Generation”, among others, as well as in the film trilogy “Matrix” made between 1999 and 2003. Now that artificial intelligence increasingly determines all areas of life, these dystopian visions of the future are gaining in topicality.

On the ground of this philosophical mind game of fictional existence and reality of the fantastic literature of the 1960s, Łukasz Twarkowski and his team condense the Munich thriller about Wirecard into a completely new story. A rousing evening of theatre about the limits of our perception.

A man stands behind a half-opened blind in an office. He is leafing through a thin notebook on the table in front of him, his gaze directed downwards.

Gabriela Neeb

Three people are standing in an open-plan office with four workstations. To the left of the picture are a man and a woman talking. A man is sitting next to them on the right, but you can only see the roots of his hair. On the far right is a woman holding a magazine. Her gaze is lowered and focussed on the magazine.

Gabriela Neeb

Above an open room with various offices are three large screens showing the image of a woman. She is wearing a silk shirt and a necklace. She has a serious or slightly disturbed expression.

Gabriela Neeb

Two men are standing next to each other. The first man, who is closer to the camera, is positioned sideways to the viewer. The other is standing behind him, facing him. He is holding a coffee cup in his hand. Behind them is a pane of glass, behind which a man is talking on the phone. It is not easy to recognise him.

Gabriela Neeb

A woman with short blonde hair is sitting at a table in an office. She is holding her glasses in her hand. An old recording device lies on the table in front of her. She looks sceptically at another person sitting to the side of the woman. However, the person is unrecognisable as you can only see the back of their head.

Gabriela Neeb

You see an open office where two people are working. A man in a black suit is standing behind them and talking to them. On the right is a camerawoman filming the scene. The film is simultaneously played on large screens above people's heads

Gabriela Neeb

A man is sitting at a reception desk. In front of him is a woman holding a mobile phone. They look at each other. The surroundings are somewhat dark, with a few small light sources and dimmed ceiling lighting providing the only light in the room.

Gabriela Neeb

A man and a woman are sitting in green armchairs. They are chatting and have their heads down.

Gabriela Neeb

A man is sitting in an office talking on the phone. You can see into the office from outside as it has large windows. Behind the man are three computer screens showing encrypted data on the screen in green lettering on a black background.

Gabriela Neeb

A man in a brown suit sits on a chair. The light casts harsh shadows on his face. Another person is sitting in the background. The two of them are talking.

Gabriela Neeb

A person is standing in front of a window through which light is shining. This means you can only see the outline of the person. They are holding a telephone receiver to their ear.

Gabriela Neeb

A woman is sitting at a computer in an open-plan office. Above the stage is a large screen showing a man on the phone.

Gabriela Neeb

You see two people hugging each other intimately

Gabriela Neeb

Two women are standing opposite each other. Behind them, you can see a man and a woman holding hands through a pane of glass. The light around them is red.

Gabriela Neeb

A man is sitting on a table with his back to the viewer. A woman sits opposite him, also on the table. They are in an office. To their right is a small camera crew of two people.

Gabriela Neeb

You can see an open office with people walking around. Above the stage is a large screen that broadcasts the same scene in large format.

Gabriela Neeb

A woman in an orange coat stands in front of a film camera and speaks. There is another woman in the background.

Gabriela Neeb

You can see an open office in which two people are talking. Above the stage is a large screen that simultaneously transmits the faces of three other people.

Gabriela Neeb

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A play commissioned by the Münchner Kammerspiele.
In preparation for this production, a research residency took place in Athens in collaboration with the Onassis Stegi. This research residency was funded by the European Union in the programme Culture Moves Europe, implemented by the Goethe-Institut.
This work was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.

With Sebastian Brandes, Tanya Kargaeva, Elias Krischke, Anna Gesa-Raija Lappe, Alina Sokhna M‘Baye, Stefan Merki, Annette Paulmann, Leoni Schulz, Daniel Wagner
Off-Voice Walter Hess
DeepfakeMarsalek Martin Weigel
Directed by Łukasz Twarkowski
Author Anka Herbut
Stage Design Fabien Lédé
Costume Svenja Gassen
Music Lubomir Grzelak
Live Camera Johanna Seggelke, Paula Tschira, Daphne Chatzopoulos
Video Design Jakub Lech
Dramaturge Anka Herbut, Caroline Schlockwerder
Choreographe Paweł Sakowicz

Sound Paolo Mariangeli, Ulrich Treutwein, Thomas Schlienger
Lighting Design Maximilian Kraußmüller
Lighting-Design Eugenijus Sabaliauskas
Video Leo Algrang, Jens Baßfeld, Jake Witlen, Zara Lazarevic
Directing Assistant Melina Dressler
Stage Design Assistant Nikolai Kuchin
Costume Design Assistant Katharina Achterkamp
Video Assistant Adam Zduńczyk
Stage manager Julia Edelmann
Stage Management Stefanie Rendtorff
Prompter Daphne Chatzopoulos
Directing Intern Josh Menges
Stage Design Intern Josephine von Collas, Jule Kortus, Surya Luedcke
Translation Andreas Volk
Julia Kawka
Surtitles Agentur SprachSpiel - Yvonne Griesel
Technical Production Management Adrian Bette
Artistic Production Management Daniela Schroll
Translation Consulting Daphne Chatzopoulos
Stage Master Marcel Homack
Lighting Felix Adams, Diana Dorn
Make-Up Thomas Opatz, Raimund Richar-Vetter, Steffen Roßmanith
Costumes Pavla Engelhardtova, Lotta Goeden, Iroha Kaneshiro, Marija Ruzic
Props Anette Schultheiss, Sabine Schutzbach
Construction Special Effects Lighting Sebastien Lachenmaier, Stefan Schmid, Horst Weißmann
Carpentry Wolfgang Mechmann, Sebastian Nebe, Josef Piechatzek, Hannes Zippert
Metalworkers Jürgen Goudenhooft, Friedrich Würzhuber
Decoration Anja Gebauer, Tobias Herzog, Maria Hörger, Lisann Öttl
Scenic Painting Evi Eschenbach, Renée Nakad

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Video show on youtu.be

Digital Program Booklet

Immerse yourself in the biggest financial scandal in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany and learn more about the background to the Wirecard affair!

Press reviews

„Wenn “WoW” Theater wird, wird es wow. Dann brilliert Stefan Merki als Markus Braun und als aasig-euphorischer Simulacron-Chef, dann keimt eine rührende Liebe zwischen Elias Krischke und Alina Sokhna M’Baye, dann spielen Annette Paulmann und Anna Gesa-Raija Lappe hinreißend Büro – mit vielen Momenten detaillierter Präzision.“

Süddeutsche Zeitung • 20.11.23

Read article 

„Auch die Zuschauenden sind hin- und hergerissen zwischen Theater und Film. (…) Zwei Kamerafrauen folgen den Angestellten von schillernder Durchschnittlichkeit auf Schritt und Tritt auch in die Räume und Fluren dahinter. Deren Aufnahmen finden sich als ganz großes Kino auf der Projektionsfläche darüber als grandios inszenierte Bilder im Imax-Format und in Echtzeit wieder.“

Abendzeitung • 21.11.23

„Regisseur Łukasz Twarkowski, der in München zuletzt den immersiven Abend Respublika zeigte, findet kinoreife Bilder in der Verbindung aus Schauspiel, Live-Video, Licht (Maximilian Kraußmüller) und der elektronischen Musik von Lubomir Grzelak. Der Soundtrack ist ohrenbetäubend, lässt den Boden beben (Gehörschutz gibt es kostenlos am Einlass) und hätte auch der “Matrix”-Trilogie gut gestanden.“

nachtkritik.de • 20.11.23

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„Ist Jan Marsalek in München? Zumindest solange die Aufführungen des Weltpremieren-Stücks «WoW - Word on Wirecard» laufen. Denn als Deepfake auf Bildschirmen erscheint der untergetauchte Wirecard-Vertriebsvorstand hier und lädt das Publikum in die künstlich geschaffene Realität von Lukasz Twarkowski ein. Seine Inszenierung des deutschen Finanzthrillers wurde am Sonntagabend in den Münchner Kammerspielen mit minutenlangem Beifall gefeiert.“

dpa / Welt • 21.11.23

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„Die überbordende Fülle an Infos, Bildern und Verweisen erinnert an ein Wimmelbild, bei dem man ständig neue Details entdecken kann. Oder sich verlieren und mit den Filmsequenzen der Wirecard-Party auf Lubomir Grzelaks teils überlautem Soundteppich dahingleiten.“

Schwäbische • 21.11.23

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„(…) und tatsächlich wechselt die Soundkulisse (Lubomir Grzelak) zwischendurch auf volle Dröhnung. Da vibrieren die Sitzreihen, und die Beats pulsieren durch die Eingeweide, während das Licht nur so flackert.“

Münchner Merkur • 21.11.23

„(…) diese auf vielen szenischen und virtuellen Ebenen bombastisch eingerichtete Installation, will mehr als ein Wörtchen abgeben zum Finanzskandal.“

BR Kulturwelt • 20.11.23

Read article 

Dates & Tickets

Wed 30.10. 7:30 – 10:20 pm

Back on the schedule

 Tickets

Thu 31.10. 7:30 – 10:20 pm

 Tickets

Sun 3.11. 7:30 – 10:20 pm

 Tickets

Mon 4.11. 7:30 – 10:20 pm

 Tickets

Wed 6.11. 7:30 – 10:20 pm

Party afterwards at TAM TAM Treppenbar

Only for students of LMU, ticket 5€

 Tickets

Mon 11.11. 7:30 – 10:20 pm

For TUM students 5€

 Tickets

Tue 12.11. 7:30 – 10:20 pm

 Tickets

Show more dates 

WoW – Word on Wirecard

 Therese-Giehse-Halle
 World premiere
 Opening night: 19.11.2023
 2 hours 50 minutes with intermission
 English surtitles
 Strobe effects, loud music
 Thu-Sat: 25€, Sun-Mi 20€, under 30 years: 10€

Theaterkasse

Contacts

WoW – Word on Wirecard

Press reviews

WoW – Word on Wirecard

Press reviews

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Statistiken

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