No Exit: Theater InCognito plays Sartre

Theater InCognito at the University of Bremen invites you to the premiere of the play "No Exit" by Jean-Paul Sartre at 8 p.m. on May 5, 2023, at the campus theater. No Exit, which is about dependence on the judgment of others, is still relevant today.

Together with students from the University of Bremen, Theater InCognito is staging Sartre's one-act play "No Exit." "How great do others think I am? My posts? My photos? And how bad are shitstorms?" These questions do not yet appear in the play from 1944, but the main theme has a thoroughly contemporary connection.

What Is It All About?

A room in hell. One by one, the “hell butler” leads three people into this room. One man and two women. All expect "hell torment," fire, torture, and even worse. Yet nothing of the kind happens. They are just there, in the room that they cannot leave. They do not know each other, have never met in their life on earth. Moreover, they are very different in character and temperament. So why exactly have they been brought together here in this room in the name of the devil?This is the starting point of the one-act play written by Jean-Paul-Sartre in 1944. In his text on "No Exit," he writes: "There are a lot of people in the world who are in hell because they depend too much on the judgment of others."

Up to Date in Times of Social Media

Whilst that was true in Sartre's day, it is even more valid today in the age of social media. That is because the number of people on whose judgment people depend has multiplied. How many likes am I getting? How great do others think I am? My posts? My photos? And how bad are shitstorms? "Sartre's play No Exit is more topical today than ever," says Franz Eggstein, director of the play and director of the university theater group TIC - Theater InCognito. "After all, those who become too dependent on the judgment of others, even in the virtual world, live in both worlds - the real and the virtual. Thus, in hell.

About Theater InCognito

The story of Theater InCognito began in 2010, initially as a university theater group. Franz Eggstein and Roland Klahr had previously begun to establish a theater seminar for students. Their project turned out to be a success and they managed to inspire many students to take to the stage. Yet over the years, the projects of the seminar entitled “Praktische Theaterarbeit” (Practical Theater) became more and more extensive. Thus, the founding of the Theater InCognito association provided the perfect framework to organize and manage these large projects.

Performances:

After the premiere, further performances are planned:
May: 5 May, 6 May, 11 May, 25 May, 26 May
June: 8 June, 9 June, 22 June, 23 June
The performance always starts at 8 pm. The location is the university theater.