About the work
“OST” is a play by Wolfram Höll, commissioned by Schauspiel Leipzig. Its world premiere, directed by Thirza Bruncken, is scheduled for 11 December 2026 at the Diskothek, one of Schauspiel Leipzig’s venues.
Plot
The text follows the history of one family across several generations and time levels, from the 1930s to 2025. It begins with the famine of 1933 in Kharkiv and the deportation to forced labour in an armaments factory in Coswig, Anhalt, in 1941/42, moves on to a family gathering in 1962 and lives spent between Ukraine, Poland and the GDR, and reaches present-day eastern Germany. At its centre are the characters Masha and Dusya.
Cultural significance
The play asks how famine, deportation and forced labour continue to shape biographies, families and memories. After “Und dann”, “Drei sind wir”, “Disko” and “Niederwald”, it is the fifth play by Höll to premiere at Schauspiel Leipzig; two of them won the Mülheim Drama Prize. There is no critical response yet ahead of the premiere.