In the village of Huisum, it is court day and village judge Adam stumbles out of bed and over himself first thing in the morning. At least that's what he claims to explain his various injuries. This is just the first of many lies that the judge will shamelessly tell. The true reason for his injuries is the result of an abuse committed the night before. Eve's fiancé Ruprecht is to be conscripted into the military and shipped off to Asia, from where almost no one returns alive. So says Judge Adam and suggests to Eve that she save Ruprecht from conscription with a secretly issued certificate. When he pressures the young Eve in her room, he is surprised by Ruprecht, escapes with a jump through the window, and injures himself in the process. The silent witness to the nocturnal events is a jug that now lies in shards. Eve's mother Marthe brings this to court, accusing Ruprecht of the nighttime assault. He vehemently denies it, while Eve is blackmailed by Adam and remains silent. The village judge opens the trial, determined to obscure his own guilt and convict an innocent man. Adam encircles himself with threats and intimidation, further lies, and false accusations, creating a seemingly secure wall of protection...

In almost obsessive fashion, Heinrich von Kleist brought the existing orders and rules of his time to the breaking point in his dramas and stories. So it is here as well. By the end of the comedy, many things are put to the test: love, family, state reasons, innocence.

Abuse of power, facilitated by naivety, invasion of privacy, collusion and camaraderie among authorities, arrogance of power... certainly contemporary themes that we address in our play.

Rescheduled date for November 25, 2024. Tickets remain valid.

With his captivating performance at this year's Eurovision Song Contest, Isaak has proven to a global audience of billions that he can effortlessly play in the top league of the most exciting new faces in European pop music. Now, the singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist is back with his brand-new single, presenting himself as emotionally and compellingly as never before at the age of 29! From a young age, Isaak learned to captivate people with his songs and draw them in. After teaching himself to play guitar, piano, ukulele, and drums, he gained his first experiences as a street musician by the age of 12. It was an educational time during which not only his instantly recognizable goosebump-inducing voice developed, but also his captivating stage presence – as Isaak recently demonstrated again in Malmö, Sweden, with his acclaimed ESC performance of his thought-provoking final selection anthem "Always On The Run," which saw its Spotify streaming numbers increase nearly twenty-fold following his global power performance, reaching almost 13 million. Currently, the double family father captivates more than 2.5 million monthly Spotify listeners, over 50.6k Instagram followers, and nearly 34.5k followers on TikTok. After impressing rock diva P!nk, who celebrated him as "better than Ed Sheeran," with his collaboration "Baby Steps" (which instantly stormed to 1st place on the iTunes charts), the over 1.7 million streamed "Home," the 572k streamed "Water To The Seed," and a passionate cover of "Who Knew," the singer and musician is now sending out his next single. In "Never The Same," his immediately skin-tingling vocals connect with a powerful chorus to create an emotional ballad, once again offering a deep insight into his torn emotional life. The song was created during a writing camp in Mallorca, where Isaak met musician Joris. They lived in the same village (Vlotho, NRW) at the time, and it was long overdue for them to write a song together. Isaak about the collaboration: "Joris picked up the guitar at the beginning and freestyled a chord progression in one take. We didn't cut the guitar at the end and left it exactly as it was in the song."

In his new single "Never The Same," Isaak tells in poignant words about change, development, personal growth, and no longer being the same. A song about the heart-wrenching realization of drifting apart while still somehow clinging to each other and holding onto old memories. And ultimately also about farewell and the acceptance that some things are just not made to last forever, no matter how much one wishes for it. With "Never The Same," Isaak presents another emotional heavyweight earworm full of vulnerability but also strength, with a glimpse of a tiny light at the end of the tunnel.

Doors open: 7:00 PM

Comedy at Stalburg Theater? No. Yes. Why not? That’s why our popular series “Der Montag in der Stalburg” features the equally popular format “Orange Stand-up Comedy” once a month. Orange Stand-up Comedy offers an evening full of entertainment. Newcomers and professionals from Frankfurt and the surrounding area share the stage, testing brand new jokes or presenting a part of their solo program – and all for a small fee. With the colorful mix of different comedians, everyone feels represented in some way – whether alone, on a date, or in a group. The format has made it its mission to make stand-up comedy known to a wider audience and to show that German humor can indeed be funny! So, if you're in the mood for some good laughter – come on over!

Doors open at 7 PM

Corona-Effekte: mobiles Arbeiten und Home Office
Mon 17 November 2025, 18:00–21:00
Location: Ev. Akademie
· Dr. Carola Burkert, Institute for Labour Market and Vocational Research

Response from a socio-ethical perspective:
· Prof. Dr. Torsten Meireis, Humboldt University Berlin

Panel:
· Dr. Carola Burkert
· Dr. Stefan Höhl, Hessian Employers' Associations (VhU), Frankfurt
· Philipp Jacks, DGB Frankfurt Rhein Main
· Prof. Dr. Torsten Meireis

Moderation:
· Dr. Thomas Wagner, KARM

Registration requested:
office@evangelische-akademie.de

Cooperation:
· Parish Office for Social Responsibility at the Protestant City Deanery Frankfurt-Offenbach
· City Church Frankfurt am Main

Admission free

Admission free. Registration: office@evangelische-akademie.de

"Stefani Kunkel slips into this role so effortlessly and confidently that one believes everything about her! (Dorothee Dorschel Darmstädter Echo)

"Hilde is a whirlwind with great slapstick." (Most beautiful comment after a show)

Rumors have it that she will become "Germany's Next Top Kittel" and is in negotiations with a TV channel. What is certain, however, is that she has been live on stage for 20 years. How did she manage that? "Every woman needs a secret," says Hilde from Bornheim. And she offers a piece of bologna to anyone who asks about it, which she carries in her coat with a buttonhole. Perhaps that is what makes her successful. She met her husband Willi at one of these picnics, after all.
Many wonder what is behind, or under, the coat that Hilde from Bornheim always wears? Underneath is Stefani Kunkel, who has created one of her most successful stage characters with Hilde. And Kunkel has been wondering for a long time about Hilde's success. What does Hilde have that I don't?

For 20 years, Stefani Kunkel has been slipping into Hilde's coat and presenting her disarmingly comedic view of the world, which sometimes struggles with the pitfalls of punctuation, knows the suffering of depressive canaries, and even performs a Moon Walk on the dance floor in some moments.

In the anniversary show, in addition to Hilde, other characters from Kunkel's cosmos will also appear. The gracefully stumbling Christiane von Spangenberg will be among the well-wishers, as will the always gaffe-prone and cheerful Doris Bender. Both characters come from Kunkel's current solo program Im Winde verlebt. In addition, you can expect two wonderful surprise guests in the anniversary show.

Stefani Kunkel celebrates all of this in her anniversary program: 20 Years Hilde! Best of - The Anniversary Show.

Doors open at 7pm"

Form consciousness is emphasized in no other literary genre as much as in poetry. But what does it actually mean to bring things into form? What is artistic perfection? And what role does content play in all of this?

Daniela Danz and Juliane Liebert can certainly provide answers to these questions – as Daniela Danz's body of work is characterized precisely by a poetics that transfers historical materials and forms into the present. In her new volume "Portolan," she spreads out nautical charts, follows the rhumb lines and wind rays, and envisions the network of cargo shipping, with which each and every one of us is closely connected in the globalized world.

And after Juliane Liebert presented a debut shaped by anarchy and wildness in 2021 with "Lieder an das große Nichts," she deals in "mörderballaden" with a very specific literary genre with a sparkling past. At some point after Brecht's "Moritat von Mackie Messer," it seemed to have gone out of style, now Liebert brings it into the present and writes about a bank robber in men's clothing who is shot in a stand-off with the police; about victims of political persecution; about pen friendships with the condemned to death – and about the time, "the true murderer."

Moderation: Beate Tröger

Daniela Danz was born in 1976 in Eisenach. She studied art history and German studies in Tübingen, Prague, Berlin, Leipzig, and Halle. Danz works as a translator and editor. Since 2002, she has been a freelance author and art historian. Her books and poetry collections have been translated into over ten languages.

Juliane Liebert, born in 1989 in Halle an der Saale, studied at the University of the Arts Berlin and works as a freelance author and journalist, among others for the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Zeit, and Der Spiegel. She writes prose and poetry and has published several books, most recently "Hurensöhne! Über die Schönheit und Notwendigkeit des Schimpfens." Juliane Liebert lives in Berlin.

Beate Tröger is a literary critic, among others for SWR, DLF, FAZ, as well as an editor of the cultural section of Frankfurter Hefte. She lives and works in Frankfurt.

Photos (c) Annette Mueck / Tatiana Kranz

Late admission only until 8 PM

Thomas Mann auf der Suche nach dem verlorenen Gott
Lecture, Conversation
Tue 18 November 2025, 19:30

Behind the back of the modern turning away from God, Thomas Mann embarked on a quest for the lost God and sought the "highly educated" "Homo Dei" behind the secularism of the humanistic view of man, culminating in the Joseph novels. His religious orientation became evident after his democratic turn following the First World War: he tirelessly emphasizes, in the face of fascism and totalitarianism, in which he perceives the calamity of the secularism heading towards nihilism, the anchoring of democracy in the "anti-Christian idea of humanity".
· Prof. Dr. Dr.h.c. Dieter Borchmeyer

7 €/5 €

MENGAMO celebrates the untamed.
Rhythmically complex, willing to take risks, always in interaction and with the same love for
opulent sound as for catchy songs, the three sought-after musicians from the
Cologne scene captivate the audience.
The trio, founded in 2012 and not least shaped by performances in the legendary Cologne
"Stecken," impresses with a symbiotic interplay that has grown over the years. Electronic soundscapes, progressive rock influences,
melodic elements, and energetic free fusion playing come together to create a distinctive,
immersive sound world.

Doors open: 19:00

Photo: Boris von Heesen © private

Violence, accidents, addiction, discrimination, hate speech, and extremism – men dominate the statistics of the abyss: They cause twice as many traffic accidents, commit by far the most crimes, and therefore occupy 94 percent of the places in German prisons. 75 percent of alcohol-related deaths each year are male, and more than 80 percent of domestic violence is perpetrated by men. These numbers not only represent pain and sorrow – they also incur immense costs.
In conversation with Bärbel Schäfer, author Boris von Heesen explains how high the price is that we all pay for toxic masculine behaviors: They cost this country over 63 billion euros every year – at a minimum. He explains the causes and presents ways in which we can address this dramatic imbalance: by creating a society where all genders can develop their potential free from patriarchal clichés and entrenched role patterns.

One starts at 6:30 PM

Katha Rosa goes on Supernova Tour in 2025 and brings new music that encourages people to see and show their own light. With her impressive voice and brave lyrics about topics such as sexual violence, depression, and healing, Katha Rosa deeply touches people – and gives a voice to those who have long been voiceless. Her songs are honest, empowering, and moving, which has not only earned her a strong fanbase but also a steadily growing media presence.

Doors open: 19:00

With "In Stöckelschuhen durchs Himbeereis", Die Schmiere presents a cabaret scene program about the absurdities and pitfalls of modern times. A program about the small and big mishaps of the private sphere, the great dangers and misguided paths of public life. About the blindness and also dumbing down in our colorful, vibrant media world. And when words fail, language breaks down, visitors from the capital arrive and there is singing.
With: Christina Wiederhold, Georg Keim and Matthias Stich

The Woman of Cakes - Katja Berlin

The successful author and columnist Katja Berlin is currently considered the woman of satirical graphics. Last year, her book "What Women Must Justify" was published, a best-of work of her years-long ZEIT column "Cakes of Truth".

Katja Berlin is now dedicating herself to the critical issues of our time live on stage. A collection of her best humorous graphics, covering topics like digitization, climate protection, equality, and progress in Germany, serves as the basis for arguably the funniest political retrospective since the invention of crisis.

Her very first book "What We Do When the Elevator Doesn't Come" sold over 300,000 copies. This was followed by 16 more books, including several bestsellers. At the same time, Katja Berlin wrote columns for "Handelsblatt Magazin" and "Berliner Zeitung" and worked as a podcaster. For nine years, she has been commenting weekly on politics and society in her ZEIT column "Cakes of Truth," showing with her satirical infographics how humor can work in times of crisis. This resulted in the books "What Right-Wing Populists Demand" and "Who Can Live Well on the Minimum Wage" in 2024.

Doors open 30 minutes before the start

Unfortunately, no tickets are available anymore. Please look for the next opportunity.

Lacuna Coil: The melodies of metal finally back on tour New album after six years break, big Germany tour in October!

For over three decades, Lacuna Coil from Milan has been tirelessly working on developing multifaceted metal and their international career. Over nine studio albums, they have developed a unique sound that blends Death Metal, threatening Gothic, modern Alternative Metal, and the successful touch of Pop, which has helped their music gain great recognition beyond the scene. This has granted the band, led by the charismatic singer Cristina Scabbia, worldwide success. A further proof of their special class is "Sleepless Empire," their tenth album, which will be released on February 14. Like every album of theirs, "Sleepless Empire" is a richly structured soundtrack of its time: dark, cinematic, orchestral, and unmistakably true to the unique characteristics that have earned Lacuna Coil a celebrated entry in the annals of metal music.

It was initially unforeseeable that Lacuna Coil would rise to become the most promising rock band from their homeland. In the first four years, the members, band names, and musical styles changed at a rapid pace. Whether as Sleep of Right or Ethereal, whether as a trio, quartet, or quintet: their only constant was the ongoing change. Two heads from this early phase remain: singer Andrea Ferro and bassist Marco Coti Zelati. It was not until 1996, when singer Cristina Scabbia joined the band, that Lacuna Coil began to take shape in earnest. These three musicians have remained the constant around which new members rally, coming and going over the years.

Their unique style consists of hard Death Metal, expressed in the deep growls of Andrea Ferro, atmospheric Gothic references, and a great love for melody. Few bands can perform such virtuoso melodic pirouettes that they combine with their powerful sound. Thus, success was not long in coming. Already with their debut "In A Reverie," they created a stir across Europe in 1999. Since their third work "Comalies" from 2002 – which they re-recorded in a "deconstructed" version for its 20th anniversary in 2022 – Lacuna Coil has been internationally at the forefront of the scene.

The key to Lacuna Coil's eternally youthful aura is their curiosity and their ability to creatively respond to new inspirations. "Our sound is dark because it reflects the society we live in – it is a portrait of our time," says Andrea Ferro. "We come from a unique generation that remembers the analog world but lives in the digital world. We are the first generation to have experienced both, so we have witnessed the change in our society – and that is the 'Sleepless Empire'.

The tour is presented by Rock Hard and Sonic Seducer.

Someone must have defamed Josef K. ...

Thus begins the nightmarish, absurd novel, in which the protagonist Mr. K. navigates a labyrinth of opaque circumstances and finds himself at the mercy of anonymous powers.

On the morning of his 30th birthday, bank official Josef K. is arrested, without being aware of any guilt. Despite his arrest, K. is still allowed to move freely and continue with his work. He futilely tries to find out why he has been accused and how he could defend himself. In the process, he encounters a court that is intangible to him, whose offices are located in the attics of large, impoverished tenement buildings. The women associated with the world of the court, whom K. tries to recruit as "assistants," exert an erotic attraction on him.
Josef K. desperately tries to gain access to the court, but even this eludes him. He increasingly engages with his trial, even though he initially intended the opposite. He becomes further ensnared in a nightmarish labyrinth of surreal bureaucracy. He delves deeper and deeper into the world of the court. At the same time, however, the court also increasingly intrudes into Josef K.'s life. Whether a trial of some sort is secretly progressing remains hidden from both the reader and Josef K. The same applies to the verdict: K. does not learn it, but he senses that his time is running out. Josef K. submits to an intangible, mysterious judgment without ever knowing why he was accused or whether there is actually a verdict from a court. On the eve of his 31st birthday, Josef K. is picked up by two gentlemen and stabbed "like a dog" in a quarry.

(Source: Wikipedia)

A cooking satire by Michael Herl

Dr. Kögel: Ilja Kamphues
Directed by: Manfred Roth
Set design/Lighting: Herbert Huber
Photos: Harald Schröder

A production of Stalburg Theater in collaboration with Hessischer Rundfunk

Premiered on September 26, 2002 at Stalburg Theater

Doors open at 7:00 p.m.

„Ich bin erleuchtet und du nicht“ What is spiritual narcissism?
Evangelical and Catholic worldview work in Hesse/Rhine-Main
Expert discussion
Wed, November 19, 2025, 19:00–21:00

Narcissism has many forms. It can also be encountered during the search for meaning – specifically when the ego is excessively strengthened and associated with a self-optimization obsession. We will discuss risk factors of the search for meaning and spirituality.

· Dr. Dieter Funke, Psychological Psychotherapist, Düsseldorf

Cooperation:
· Center for Ecumenism of the EKHN and EKKW

Please register indicating your professional background: hausamdom@bistumlimburg.de

Admission free

Admission free. Registration: hausamdom@bistumlimburg.de

A heartwarming evening
Dive into the enchanting world of "Drei kleine Buchläden am Ende der Welt," the moving sequel to Ruth Shaw's bestseller that takes us back to the south of New Zealand. Experience Ruth Shaw live – she is traveling all the way from New Zealand, with her only stop being Germany.

Information about the book Drei kleine Buchläden am Ende der Welt:
Once again, Ruth Shaw takes us on a journey through her fulfilling, but not always easy life – and into her tiny book world far down south in New Zealand. The small bookstore has now grown into three. Alternatingly, Ruth shares the heartwarming encounters in her little book world and how her life progressed after she found her son and her great love, Lance. A book that is sometimes touching, sometimes sad, and sometimes full of zest for life. Stories about the highs and lows of life that warm and bring happiness, as only a good book and a cup of steaming tea can.

Information about the author Ruth Shaw:
Ruth Shaw was born in 1946 in Christchurch. Today, together with her husband Lance, she runs the smallest bookstore in the country in Manapuri, right at the southern tip of New Zealand. Her first book, Der Buchladen am Ende der Welt, was a surprise success and has been translated into 12 languages as an international bestseller.

Look forward to an exciting evening with Ruth Shaw on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, starting at 4:30 PM at your Hugendubel bookstore in Frankfurt!

Photo: Traumfabrik © private

The Traumfabrik Jazz Orchestra is a young big band from Frankfurt that brings fresh impetus to the regional jazz scene. Founded in 2024 by four music students, the ensemble combines emerging professional musicians who create a distinctive sound with joy and artistic expression.
At the center is the music of Finn Heine – guitarist, composer, and co-founder of the orchestra. Born in 2002 in Frankfurt am Main, he received his initial training at Dr. Hoch's Conservatory, before being supported as a scholarship holder of the renowned WDR Big Band Composer Fellowship Program by Vince Mendoza and Florian Ross. His musical career led him from the State Youth Jazz Orchestra of Hesse and the Federal Jazz Orchestra to his own projects such as Quartertone and the award-winning Discovery Collective. His compositions combine modern big band sounds with singable melodies and colorful harmonies. Intimate, quiet passages alternate with dense, energetic tutti moments. The orchestra stands for concerts full of energy, joy of playing, and musical curiosity.
Featuring: Paul Beskers, Paul Scheugenpflug, Clemens Köhler, Darius Blair, Fabian Deschler (saxophones); Nico Wellers, Nils Attermeyer, Johannes Knoll, Jordi Roviró (trumpets); Paul Lüpfert, Carlotta Armbruster, Matthis Wroblewski, Béla Tschochner (trombones), Finn Heine (g), Leon Hattori (p), tba (b), Henning Katz (dr) and as special guest Florian Ross (p).
In cooperation with the Jazz Initiative Frankfurt.

Admission starts at 6:30 PM

Written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Killing Eve) and directed by Vicky Jones, Fleabag is a rip-roaring look at some sort of woman living her sort of life. Following a box-office record-breaking run in cinemas in 2019, the one-woman show returns to cinemas to the big screen this summer.

Fleabag may seem oversexed, emotionally unfiltered and self-obsessed, but that´s just the tip of the iceberg. With family and friendships under strain and a guinea pig café struggling to keep afloat, Fleabag suddenly finds herself with nothing to lose.

The hilarious, award-winning play that inspired the BBC’s hit TV series Fleabag, was captured live on stage from London’s West End in 2019.

Presented by DryWrite, Soho Theatre and Annapurna Theatre.