About the work
“Ex” is a chamber play by Marius von Mayenburg, written on commission for the Swedish touring theatre Riksteatern. It premiered in Magnus Lindman’s Swedish translation on 30 September 2021 in Tumba near Stockholm, directed by Mayenburg himself and co-produced with Örebro Teater. The German-language premiere followed on 12 March 2025 at the Schaubühne in Berlin, again directed by the author.
Plot
Daniel, an architect, and Sibylle, a doctor, lead a professionally successful, carefully arranged family life with two children. One evening Daniel comes home late, and shortly afterwards his former girlfriend Franziska calls, urgently looking for a place to stay. Daniel says no, but Franziska turns up at the door anyway. Her presence brings hidden grievances, questions of background and class and the fragility of the marriage to light, and the quarrel escalates from barbed remarks to open accusations.
Cultural significance
With this play Mayenburg continues the tradition of the marital and relationship comedy with black humour; critics drew comparisons with Yasmina Reza’s “God of Carnage”. At the National Theatre of Iceland, Benedict Andrews staged “Ex” as part of a Mayenburg trilogy. The Berlin premiere received mixed reviews: dialogue and acting were praised, while its length and the exaggerated characters were criticised.