A young man embarks on the traditional father-son hunting trip, but because his father is ill, the older man’s three best friends come along instead. They sit together in an isolated cabin in the woods, toast to decency and tradition, make jokes that are still acceptable. Slowly, the thin veil of civilisation is lifted. When they get word that wolves have been sighted and a man has gone missing, the hunt begins. The ending will be fatal.
esents German sociability in all its horror. The rhetoric that she injects into the dialogue from three former Nazis in the ‘80s is much like that which we hear now in the Bundestag.
Actors: Julia Bartolome, Amadeus Köhli, Stephan Schäfer, Sascha Tuxhorn, Adeline Schebesch, Matthias Luckey, Thorsten Danner, Elina Schkolnik
Music: Tamás Matkó, Set: Lili Izsák, Costume: Luca Szabados, Mask: Kathrin Bornmüller, Light: Katta Lehmann, Dramaturg: Fabian Schmidtlein, Assistent: Malika Scheller
Foto: Konrad Fersterer
https://www.staatstheater-nuernberg.de/spielplan-24-25/heilig-blut/14-06-2025/1900
Die Deutsche Bühne (Wolfgang Reitzammer) "Ildikó Gáspár’s stage adaptation of Gisela Elsner's novel Heilig Blut (Holy Blood) at the Staatstheater Nürnberg is anti-fascist, satirical, and grotesque. The production oscillates between crime genre elements and questioning the image of humanity. And the musical framework hits the mark. (...) Gisela Elsner's novel, which has a tumultuous publishing history and boasts remarkable relevance today, is only available as a rare collector's item for nearly 100 euros—a theater ticket is definitely worth it! Thomas Bernhard and Elfriede Jelinek would certainly be thrilled."
Nürnberger Nachrichten (Wolf-Ulrich Ebersberger) "Gisela Elsner is back! With the magnificent evening Heilig Blut, the Staatstheater remembers the Nuremberg-born author, who sends four men on a wolf hunt in her novel. (...) Oh, finally great theater again. One that opens up the entire space and opens our eyes, one that snows endlessly and yet never becomes cozy, and which draws its points all the more strikingly against the bare white background, as if on paper. These points are not only cutting-edge relevant but also artistically convincing. (...) We believe the author herself would have enjoyed this great evening."
nachtkritik.de (Andreas Thamm) "A first-class novel adaptation: Ildikó Gáspár brings a little-known novel by Gisela Elsner to the stage – eerie, visually powerful, and hitting the 'heart of darkness' of our time with pinpoint accuracy."
Süddeutsche Zeitung (Florian Welle) "Ildikó Gáspár has awakened Heilig Blut from its Sleeping Beauty slumber and transformed it into a revue of 20 scenes. This is fitting, as Elsner has briskly placed biblical borrowings alongside crime elements and fairy-tale motifs. (...) An ice-cold evening that leaves you with laughter stuck in your throat. Even without a single direct allusion to our present, you cannot help but think about it incessantly!"
Donaukurier (Roland H. Dippel) "Lili Izsák’s stage design is a visual treat. (...) Following many formally conceived, experimental, and gripping, yet also bizarre performance styles, Jan Philipp Gloger presents a sarcastic yet poetic production full of beauty and perfidy as the final premiere of his Nuremberg artistic directorship. Much applause for Elsner’s satire and an oppressively gripping theatrical evening."
