Werkschau
Over the weekend of 5–7 June 2026, the WORX productions by the fourth cohort were showcased as part of a WERKSCHAU.
Fourth Year: Jules Head and Marie Schwesinger
The aim of WORX is to offer young theatre makers at the start of their careers a space to work, a safe haven and creative freedom over the course of a season, whilst providing them with the support of staff and the resources of an established theatre. The directors have complete freedom over both the content and aesthetics of their productions and can experiment freely and explore new forms in the Werkraum with their own artistic team and production budget.
In the 2025/26 season, Jules Head from Bristol and Marie Schwesinger from Frankfurt am Main will make the ‘Werkraum’ their artistic home. The current jury – comprising Uršulė Barto, Daniel Grünauer, Anita Augustin Huber, Theda Nilsson-Eicke and Clara Topic-Matutin – selected two exceptional artistic figures with diverse aesthetic and thematic concerns from 270 international applications.
Jules Head works in a transdisciplinary manner at the intersection of theatre, audio and film, and is interested in physicality, intimacy and social structures. Jules will stage the world premiere of the novel "The Archive of Dreams" by the American author Carmen Maria Machado. This will be followed by a second production, "Crash Mat. The Castle" (working title), a play based on the work of Franz Kafka.
Marie Schwesinger combines documentary research with political theatre and explores social conflicts and the culture of remembrance. To mark the 125th anniversary of Anna Seghers’ birth, she is focusing on the novel "Transit". Her second production will be the documentary theatre piece "Sturm auf Berlin", a research project based on the court case against the 'Reichsbürger' group Reuß, which she is currently covering as a journalist.
Premieres of the season
Transit
By Anna Seghers
Director: Marie Schwesinger
Premiere: 5. November 2025
Werkraum
In The Dream House (Das Archiv der Träume)
By Carmen Maria Machado
Director: Jules Head
World Premiere: 18. December 2025
Werkraum
The Castle (Das Schloss)
or imagine K. happy
By Georgia Bruce
Based on themes by Franz Kafka and Albert Camus
Translated from the English by Leo Lorena Wyss
Regie: Jules Head
World Premiere: 25. February 2026
Werkraum
Sturm auf Berlin
By Marie Schwesinger
Director: Marie Schwesinger
World Premiere: 7. May 2026
Neues Haus
Direction: Daniel Grünauer
Jury 26/27: Anita Augustin, Theda Nilsson-Eicke, Heiki Riipinen, Lucien Strauch, Clara Topic-Matutin (Vorsitz)
Production: Kathinka Schroeder
Open Call for application 27/28: Ab Herbst 2026
Contact: worx@berliner-ensemble.de
WORX-Design Season 25/26 © Birgit Karn
Gallery
Digitales Magazin
Other WORX Years
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Luis August Krawen from Berlin and Piotr Pacześniak from Warsaw will be the directors of the WORX programme for emerging directors at the Berliner Ensemble during the 2026/27 season. As artists in residence, they will have the opportunity, over the course of one season, to develop two productions each in the Werkraum with creative and stylistic freedom, supported by the staff and resources of an established theatre company.
Overview
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In WORX’s third year, directors Malin Lamparter and Lucia Wunsch took over the artistic residency. In their work, they explored role models, social expectations and the mechanisms of self-presentation. Their productions spanned a range of genres, from classical texts to contemporary drama and performative forms.
Overview
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In WORX’s second year, Norwegian director Heiki Riipinen and Iranian director Alireza Daryanavard curated the programme at Werkraum, which explored the intersection of activism and performance. The four productions examined power structures, queerness and activist movements, ranging from Iran to the German Basic Law.
Overview
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The first two directors at WORX were the Lithuanian director Uršulė Barto and the Austrian Fritzi Wartenberg. They were selected by an independent jury from over 120 applicants. Both share a clear feminist perspective on the structures and mechanisms of the world – and of theatre.
Overview