A record number of visitors crowns an extraordinary year at Frankfurt's Kleist Forum theater: 49,543 guests attended performances at the Kleist Forum and guest performances of the theater's own productions in Cottbus, Schwetzingen, Hamburg and Rome. In addition, around 11,000 people took part in workshops and cultural education programs.
"This development makes me proud and grateful at the same time. Proud of a fantastic team effort – because theater is always a joint effort – and grateful for the trust of our loyal audience and the curiosity of everyone who visited us for the first time. This spurs us on to continue to bring the wonderful diversity of theater forms to our stages in order to discover new worlds together," says Florian Vogel, Artistic Director of the theater.
The year 2025 was characterized by remarkable world premieres such as "Phädras Ehre" with Sophie Rois, sophisticated entertainment such as "Die Fledermaus – Leicht gekürzt und stark gewürzt" with Boris Aljinovic and the saxophone quartet clair-obscur, experimental formats such as "Kleist: Liebesbriefe – Liebesschlager" with Julia von Sell and Thomas Thieme as well as contemporary productions such as "JACQUELINE" about school days in the GDR, "The Krug (unbroken)" with David Friedrich and the Bürgerbühne's authentic productions such as "Sekundenglück", "#Baseballschlägerjahre" and "Lehrermangel".
The dance performance "Die Seele am Faden" with ballet star Friedemann Vogel was revived due to popular demand. All performances in Frankfurt (Oder) were completely sold out months in advance. The Gesamtkunstwerk of dance, music and virtual reality was invited as a guest performance at the Schwetzingen SWR Festival, the Hamburg Ballet Days and the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma and was celebrated by audiences in sold-out houses. In January 2026, the production has been invited to the Stuttgart Ballet, and only a few tickets are still available for the six performances.
The new year also begins with performances that reflect the diversity of the Kleist Forum: Alexander Scheer's musical homage to David Bowie "Heroes" can be seen on January 10. It continues on January 17 with the stage version of the witty and anarchic children's book "Das Neinhorn" and on January 24 with "The Little Prince" as a poetic sand theater performance. The following day, audiences can look forward to the Ringelnatz evening "Öffentliche Probe" with Jörg Schüttauf and, at the end of the month, the GDR operetta "Messeschlager Gisela".