Das Licht der Welt

The Burgtheater Studio’s last production of the season is dedicated to a pressing, forward-looking question: What forms of activism and protest can we use in the face of the impending climate disaster? Raphaela Bardutzky’s play DAS LICHT DER WELT (The Light of the World) follows a group of eco-activists who have put up rail blockades and other barricades and are now occupying a forest in a lignite mining region. Rabe is an activist who recently joined the group. She needs to get used to the rough living conditions in the camp and learn to navigate the contentious but empowering dynamics within the community. She understands that taking responsibility is not only a social and political requirement, it also plays a role in the most private and intimate areas of life. When she becomes pregnant by accident, Rabe finds herself pondering whether it is irresponsible to have a baby in today’s world – a question that suddenly becomes very real, interrupting the protesters’ everyday life and testing their principles.

Maximilian Pellert, the director of this controversial play, has cast the roles with young amateur actors from the Studio ensemble, thereby giving a voice to the very generation featured in the piece.