Martyr

“Puberty is a passing mental illness.”

The 16 year old Benjamin doesn’t want to go to the swimming class anymore. Asked by his mother, he finally admits that his reasons are of religious nature. Following this first rebellion, he reveals himself as being a Christian fanatic. Benjamin reinforces this image of himself trough angry Bible speeches and provocative actions. His biology teacher, Mrs. Roth, thinks that this is a young person crying for help. Her good intentioned attempts to approach Benjamin, are being rigorously broken down by him, and not long time after, Mrs. Roth finds herself within gunshot, all the more so, principle Batzler and the religion teacher greet Benjamins fundamentalist way of thinking with indulgence.

Evolution, emancipation, contraception, homosexuality, Jewry; all of these are seen by Benjamin as uncleanly, devilish, sinful. The young prophet finds in the socially isolated gimp, Georg, his first apprentice, whilst Mrs. Roth confronts him more and more determined.
Mayenburgs fine-edged, dialogue-based play is not just a blunt critique to the islamophobia of the west, but also shows the fundamentalist depths of the western world.

16-18th December 2017, Timișoara, „Performance invited during the partnership with The German State Theatre Timisoara”