About the work
“Hannah Zabrisky tritt nicht auf” (Hannah Zabrisky does not appear) is a play by Falk Richter, who directed it himself at the Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz in Berlin. It premiered on 22 November 2025 in Saal A, with Jule Böwe in the title role. The play is a satire on the theatre business in which rehearsal and reality merge; live cameras play a central role.
Plot
The renowned actress Hannah Zabrisky refuses to perform the play her ensemble has been rehearsing for weeks, which offers her only the usual roles of an ageing woman. Her refusal triggers a chain of conflicts and crises among the others involved, including the director, the author and the video artist. While wars and political upheaval shake the world outside, the theatre people revolve around age, decline and their own role as artists, until the line between the play in rehearsal and their lives blurs.
Cultural significance
The play continues the artistic self-questioning Richter had pursued in “In My Room” and “The Silence”, this time with ironic distance. Critics praised the entertaining performances, especially Jule Böwe, but found that the satire takes few political risks.