FC Bergman: Guernica Guernica

Theatre, Ruhrbühnen for Democracy

19.9.-20.9.2025

, Jahrhunderthalle Bochum

A wordless multimedia stage production about the impossibility of representing war.

Inspired by Picasso’s painting Guernica, theatre collective FC Bergman, Silver Lion winners at the Venice Biennale 2023, created a daring exploration of how we watch war. From raw footage to art and film, media shapes our perception, yet the spectacle confronts the impossibility of truly representing war. Do images bring us closer to reality, or alienate us? The stage becomes a war zone – part theatre, part living artwork – framed by two opposing grandstands. The innovative theatre piece Guernica Guernica works exclusively with images, music, and mass scenes. The production focuses on the threefold roles of victim, perpetrator, and ultimate the spectators. FC Bergman higlights the absurdity of war representation and critiques the commercialization of war imagery as well as societal paralysis in the face of conflict.

Guernica Guernica is part the democracy campaign of the RuhrBühnen network.

Produced by FC Bergman, Toneelhuis and private producer Dirk Raes in co-production with Ruhrtriennale and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg.

Note: At the time the interview with Stef Aerts and Joé Agemans was recorded, the working title was Viva Guernica.

Cast

By and with
- FC Bergman (Stef Aerts, Joé Agemans, Thomas Verstraeten, Marie Vinck),
- et al.,
- plus 80 Extras
Sound Design
- Maarten Van Cauwenberghe
Dramaturgy
- Koen Tachelet
Costume Design
- An D'Huys
Light Design
- Bart Van Merode
Assistant Artistic Production Manager Ruhrtriennale
- Anna Sophie Hutter
Technical Project Manager Ruhrtriennale
- Ole Meißner,
- Klaus Hammer
Technician
- Harald Adams,
- Konrad Anger,
- Steven Böhm,
- Leon Dohr,
- Desirée García López,
- Tanya Hofmann,
- Severino Jurischka,
- Andreas Korogonas,
- Frank Kostadimas,
- Torben Krol,
- Daniel Lein,
- Franzi Luhn,
- Gerd Mikuscheit,
- Benjamin Parr,
- Len Pichler,
- Fernando Quartana,
- Janine Reich,
- Uwe Renken,
- Stephan Schneppel,
- Alma Schraer,
- Ralph Schwarzenauer,
- Dominik Wegmann,
- Jakob Wundrack,
- Jonas Wüstefeld
Dressing and Costume Team Ruhrtriennale
- Daniela Bermudez,
- Sabine Höhfeld,
- Ute Carow,
- Paula de la Haye,
- Sinja Höcker,
- Emma Lou Paleit,
- Heike Schick,
- Camille Schwarz,
- Luise Steinmann,
- Emelyn Yabar Tito
Hair and Makeup Team Ruhrtriennale
- Pia Norberg,
- Celine Barz,
- Katharina Groß,
- Manuela Heukamp,
- Annette Jasper,
- Heike Kehrwisch,
- Kathi Kullack,
- Madeleine Kurtz,
- Rebecca Rühle,
- Alexandra Schramm,
- Melanie Schulte-Holtey,
- Renate Wellershausen

Audio description and haptic tour
Audio description will be available for the performance on 20 September. A team of sighted and non-sighted writers will provide a description of the action on stage, the set and costumes, tailored to the performance. You can order tickets for the audio description using this form. Once you have completed the form, you will receive a link allowing you to select and book your seats.
The necessary receivers for the audio description can be borrowed free of charge on payment of a deposit.
In addition, a haptic tour will be offered before the performance to allow visitors to explore the stage space in advance. You can also register for the haptic tour using the form.

To the application form