- What: Premiere of the play “Howl” (after Allen Ginsberg)
- Where: Theaterhaus Jena
- When: Premiere on February 19, 2026, 8:00 PM
- Cast: Solo piece featuring Thato Kämmerer
- Special Feature: Performed in English (partially with German surtitles)
Jena (10.02.2026) – It is an outcry that has lost none of its force even 70 years after its creation. When the curtain rises next Thursday, February 19, at Theaterhaus Jena, the audience should not expect a traditional theatrical staging, but rather an intense engagement with one of the most significant works of the Beat Generation. Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” takes to the stage—not as a reading, but as a physically demanding one-woman show.
A Poem Becomes a Stage Event
When Allen Ginsberg published his long-form poem in 1956, it was both a scandal and a revelation. He described a generation breaking under the constraints, censorship, and materialism of 1950s US society. Theaterhaus Jena now brings this historical material into the present. The production interprets the text through the lens of a “fallen, lonely, and embittered angel.”
Ginsberg’s work begins with the famous line about the “best minds of my generation” destroyed by madness and ends in a spiritual quest for redemption. For Jena, a city that often defines itself through its scientific and cultural openness, the material offers much to reflect upon: it deals with the price of conformity and the longing for genuine human connection in a technocratic world.
Solo Performance in English
A special feature of the Jena production is the choice of language. The play will be performed in the original English. According to the Theaterhaus, this is a conscious effort to reach the growing international community of the city on the Saale—from students to researchers who have made Jena their home. However, the evening is also intended to be accessible to German-speaking audiences: selected dates will feature German surtitles.
Thato Kämmerer takes the stage alone—an immense challenge. Ginsberg’s text is considered a “wall of words,” full of erratic associations and a driving rhythm. The production relies not only on the spoken word but also on high physical exertion to make the power of Ginsberg’s language physically tangible.
Atmosphere Between Scrap and Snow
The internal conflict of the lyrical “I” is visually underscored by Yue Ying’s stage design. It plays with strong contrasts: proximity and distance, metal and liquid, snow and scrap. This clash of materials is intended to turn the poem’s inner landscape outward. The atmosphere is further enhanced by a musical expansion that echoes the rhythm of Beat poetry.
Conclusion and Dates
With “Howl,” Theaterhaus Jena ventures into an experiment that combines literature and performance art while specifically building international bridges within the city. It serves as a reminder that art still has the task of loudly crying out against injustice today.
Following the premiere on February 19, further performances will take place on February 21, 26, 27, and 28. Tickets are available through the usual Theaterhaus Jena box offices.