Hamburger Kammerspiele · 2021

Der koschere Himmel

World premiere at the Hamburger Kammerspiele
Directed by Sewan Latchinian
Design: Stephan Fernau
Music: Emanuel Meshvinski
With Franz-Joseph Dieken, Riccardo Ferreira, Markus Majowski, Raika Nicolai, Antje Otterson, Helen Schneider and the voice of Corinna Harfouch
Premiere 19 September 2021, performances until 26 December 2021

Comedy in three acts

Bernhard's mother has died. What sounds like an everyday matter quickly grows into a big problem. Bernhard's mother was Jewish but married to a Christian who saved her life during the Third Reich. Her last and unshakeable wish is to be buried at his side in the municipal cemetery, yet according to her faith. Of course the son wants to fulfil his mother's wish, but that is anything but simple: a rabbi is forbidden to bury someone in a Christian cemetery, and a priest is not allowed to perform a Jewish rite.

And so a race against time begins, because according to Jewish tradition the deceased must be buried without delay. Bernhard's cousin, his wife and their daughter fly in from Israel and, more against each other than together, try to crack the problem. Then there is a Palestinian kiosk owner who does not make things easier – or perhaps he does? After four turbulent days in which the past flashes up and the characters sometimes get themselves out of trouble with paradoxes (“A Jew turns a problem into a joke, a German turns a joke into a problem”), with bizarre, strange and subtle encounters in funeral parlours and cemeteries, with rabbis, priests and the Palestinian, they finally resolve the absurd conflict.

DER KOSCHERE HIMMEL is based on the novel “Das jüdische Begräbnis” (The Jewish Funeral) by Lothar Schöne, which received excellent reviews in the arts pages of major German-language newspapers:

“A wonderfully funny story of an authentic case.” (Frankfurter Rundschau)

“A rare piece of literature: touching, funny and gripping at the same time.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)

Theatre review: a clash of religions at the Hamburger Kammerspiele »