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On 24 October 2025, the play Die Marquise von O und – (The Marquise of O and -), directed by Ildikó Gáspár, premiered at the Deutsches Theater Berlin. The Hungarian director combines Heinrich von Kleist’s novella from 1808 with three other true cases of sexual violence from different centuries. The production can be seen again in October and November 2025 and on 1 January 2026. On three evenings, the play will be accompanied by the event ‘Die Scham muss die Seite wechseln’ (Gisèle Pelicot) on society’s handling of sexualised violence, with lawyer and author Christina Clemm. This will take place in the Rangfoyer about an hour before the play begins.
In a northern Italian fortress, the unthinkable happens: as Russian troops storm the city, the widowed Marquise von O. almost falls victim to an assault – until a Russian officer, Count F., seemingly heroically rescues her. He disappears without a word after the attack, and everything seems to be over. A few weeks later, however, she is horrified to discover that she is pregnant. Without memory. Without consent. And without anyone who believes her claims of innocence. Rejected by her family, she places a newspaper advertisement seeking the man who raped and …
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Fig. above: DIE MARQUISE VON O. UND – after a novella by Heinrich von Kleist, Deutsches Theater, Photo: © Walkenhorst
