Julia Jäger and Matthias Habich at the Kleist Forum

Stage and film stars Julia Jäger and Matthias Habich will be guests at Frankfurt's Theaterhaus Kleist Forum on 22 March. In the staged reading "Lélé", they give voice to two people who couldn't be more different and yet build an unexpected relationship. A quiet story that was written especially for the two actors.

An elderly widower sends a letter thanking him for the result of an internet order – a customised dog collar with his name embroidered on it. Rather surprisingly, Helene, known as Lélé, who is responsible for the work – an inmate at a correctional centre – replies. The dog collar is part of the product range of a website that sells handmade goods made by prisoners. The initially formal dialogue soon becomes something more, an exchange between two very idiosyncratic characters who neither address their mutual forlornness nor their respective imprisonment, but always make it palpable. And who have a lot to give each other until there is nothing left to lose.

The radio play version of "Lélé" was honoured by the Akademie der Künste as "Radio Play of the Month May 2025". The jury statement said: "...Matthias Habich plays Gerhard, the former teacher and widower, with a good dose of oddness and self-irony. Julia Jäger speaks velvety and clearly hints at the sensitivity that lies beneath a hard shell. Both do a great job. With humour, melancholy and longing, they portray the rapprochement of two characters who gradually unfold their characters and life stories."

When and where?

Sunday, 22. March 2026 | 3:00 p.m.
Kleist Forum, Platz der Einheit 1, 15230 Frankfurt (Oder)
 

"Lélé"
Scenic reading based on Sathyan Ramesh
With Julia Jäger and Matthias Habich