Medusa Festival Berlin

MEDUSA is coming to Berlin’s legendary Volksbühne with the first of three mini-festivals. Organised by Das Kombinat, the festival will create a space for vibrant transnational exchange. The programme for the festival is shaped by the six plays that were selected during the Observatory process for their potential to resonate across European borders.

Over the course of three days, each with its own distinct theme, staged readings – the Italian and Bulgarian plays are being performed in German for the first time – will explore topics such as the body, class, gender, experiences of otherness and belonging, as well as community, intoxication and violence. Artist and audience discussions will focus on the current challenges facing international theatre work, the process of translation and of course the plays themselves. A launch event in collaboration with the International Theatre Institute (ITI) and a closing party complete the four memorable days in November 2026.

Programme

From Translation to Circulation: Three European Perspectives. 

4th November, 2026 | 18:30 | | German Centre of the ITI (Kreuzberg, Berlin)

Ahead of this very first MEDUSA festival, a public event will take place in collaboration with the International Theatre Institute (ITI). The focus will be on how contemporary theatre texts can be communicated across linguistic and national borders and find their way to new stages and new audiences. The MEDUSA project will also be launched as part of this opening event!

MEDUSA Festival Berlin

5th – 7th November, 2026 | Roter Salon, Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Mitte, Berlin)

5th November | 19:30
Marinova/Motta, directed by: Bues
body, class, gender
ДЕБЕЛАКЪТ (FATASS) by Silva Marinova, translated from the Bulgarian by Alexander Sitzmann
Notte Bianca (White Night) by Tatjana Motta, translated from the Italian by Henrieke Markert

Director: Marie Bues
Performers: Eddy Barroso, Barbara Behrendt, Anton Berman, Aylin Esener

Followed by a discussion with the playwright Silva Marinova and the translator Henrieke Markert

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6th November | 19:30
Riemer / Paschitto, directed by: Herzberg
experiences of otherness and belonging
aufstiegskörper. ein fühlversuch (ascending bodies. a felt experiment) by Lena Riemer
SESSO (SEX) by Alessandro Paschitto, translated from the Italian by Carola Köhler

Director: Tobias Herzberg
Performers: Knut Berger, Theresa Berlage, Joao D’Orey, Via Jikeli

Followed by a discussion with the playwrights Alessandro Paschitto and Lena Riemer and the translator Carola Köhler

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7th November | 19:30
Georgieva /Baudy, directed by: Dastmalchi
community, intoxication and power
СИЛНИ. СМЕЛИ. СТРАХОВИТИ. (Strong. Brave. Fearsome.) by Teodora Georgieva, translated from the Bulgarian by Alexander Sitzmann
under the influence oder: die rückkehr der bakchen (under the influence or: the return of the bacchae)  by Natalie Baudy

Director: Salome Dastmalchi
Performers: Banafshe Hourmazdi, Nadim Jarrar, Patrick Khatami, Niklas Wetzel 

Followed by a discussion with the playwright Natalie Baudy and the curator Gergana Dimitrova 

A closing party, with funky grooves, beats & classics by DJAZ & DJ SAESH (SoRealCrew) will bring the first MEDUSA festival to an end.

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Festival Team

Monica Marotta (Das Kombinat e.V.): Curation, Project Management
Sarah Rosenau (Das Kombinat e.V.): Communications
Veronika Patockova (Das Kombinat e.V.): Financial Management
Charlotte Bomy (Drama Panorama e.V.): Observatory, Translations
Anna Galt (Drama Panorama e.V.): English Editorial
Meera Teeßen: Associate director, Stage Management

The MEDUSA Berlin Festival is co-funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion. The event From Translation to Circulation: Three European Perspectives is organised in collaboration with the International Theatre Institute (ITI).