Record Numbers and Unprecedented Diversity
Mainz's Staatstheater Unveils Bold 2024–25 Season with 24 Premieres
Alongside General Music Director Gabriel Venzago, Head Dramaturg Sonja Westerbeck, Drama Dramaturg Jörg Vorhaben, and Dance Director Honne Dohrmann, Intendant Markus Müller presented the theater's extensive new program.
With a total of 24 premieres—including seven world premieres and one German premiere—as well as 38 revivals, the upcoming season offers an exceptionally broad spectrum. The program is further enriched by readings, song recitals, discussion formats, and festivals such as Grenzenlos Kultur (Borderless Culture), the Plug&Play Festival for emerging directors, and tanzmainz festival #6.
Demand remains high: 6,469 subscribers mark a new record—a rise of 424 compared to the previous year.
Central Theme: "Never Shall You Ask Me"
The season takes its cue from the famous line in Lohengrin: "Never shall you ask me." While the opera frames this prohibition as an expression of longing and power, the theater deliberately interprets it as an invitation to do the opposite: to ask questions, open dialogues, and embrace uncertainty.
Music Theater: Between Progress and the Abyss
The music theater season opens with Lohengrin, conducted by Gabriel Venzago. Other productions explore major ethical and societal themes: In the Penal Colony, based on Kafka, examines moral boundaries, while Doctor Atomic grapples with the ambiguities of scientific progress.
The German premiere of Antarctica and the musical Titanic also feature on the program, oscillating between the thirst for discovery, hubris, and catastrophe. Classics such as Ariadne auf Naxos and Don Giovanni round out the lineup.
A standout experiment is the world premiere of Meanwhile, in which the audience actively shapes the course of the narrative.
Drama: Existential Questions Take Center Stage
The central theme also runs through the drama program. Plays like My Wife's Lover, Pretty Much Last Friends, and Angels in America probe fundamental questions of love, truth, and responsibility.
Classics such as The Visit, Peer Gynt, and The Seagull return to the Mainz stage, revisiting pivotal works of theatrical literature.
The U17 studio theater remains a hub for new writing and world premieres, while international playwrights contribute fresh perspectives.
Dance: International Renown
The tanzmainz company continues its international success story, with three premieres, nine revivals, and guest performances worldwide—including, for the first time, in South America.
In Honne Dohrmann's final season, new works are created in collaboration with acclaimed choreographers such as Roni Haver and Guy Weizman. Their production Morning Song will premiere at the Großes Haus.
An Invitation to Dialogue
With its new program, the Staatstheater Mainz reaffirms its role as a space for exchange and reflection. The idea of "curtain falls, all questions remain open" permeates the entire season.
Advance ticket sales for select productions begin on March 28, while subscriptions for the upcoming season are already available.
