About the work
“Sonne und Beton” (“Sun and Concrete”) brings Felix Lobrecht’s novel of the same name to the stage; the book was published by Ullstein in 2017 and adapted for the cinema by David Wnendt in 2023. The stage rights are handled by Felix Bloch Erben, and each theatre develops its own adaptation in consultation with the agency. On 2 October 2024 DT Jung*, the young audience branch of Deutsches Theater Berlin, opened a touring world premiere directed by Karsten Dahlem, performed in classrooms, youth clubs and neighbourhood venues.
Plot
During the heatwave summer of 2003, Lukas and his friends Julius and Gino hang around the tower blocks of Berlin’s Gropiusstadt, where boredom and violence shape everyday life; later Sanchez joins them. After dealers beat Lukas up and demand money from him, the boys hatch a risky plan: they want to break into their own school, steal computers and sell them on.
Cultural significance
Inspired by Lobrecht’s own youth in Gropiusstadt, the novel became a bestseller. The film adaptation, whose screenplay Lobrecht co-wrote with Wnendt, premiered at the Berlinale in February 2023 and drew more than 1.2 million cinemagoers in Germany. For the stage, the agency recommends the material for audiences aged 14 and over.