THE LONG SHADOW OF ALOIS BRUNNER
Collective Ma’louba
The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner interrogates the true story of one of the most wanted Nazi criminals to escape sentencing. Instrumental to the deportation of over 100,000 people to concentration camps and ghettoes, Alois Brunner evaded numerous arrest attempts – fleeing to Damascus where he was instrumental in building Syria’s intelligence services. Arriving in twentyfirst century Berlin as a refugee, Syrian playwright Mudar Alhaggi discovers Brunner’s story and begins to research obsessively before disappearing...
In this gripping play, we meet two actors piecing together the fragments of Alhaggi’s research as personal experience, world history, truth and fiction all collide. Weaving together Syrian and German history, The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner explores exile, accountability and political memory – and the complex thread that ties the past to the present.
It raises searing questions about refuge, justice and hope.
We are excited to tour this work with a newly acquired urgency and resonance after the fall of the dictatorship in Syria.
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Ma’louba – Arabic for Upside Down – was founded as a collective by Syrian theatre makers, who graduated from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus and are now based across Europe.
Collective Ma’louba’s works reflect on the lived experiences of Arabs in a global context: their historical, political and colonial links and the unsettled status of existences. Collective Ma’louba’s works are always topical and include themes of migration, identity, culture, freedom and the nature of theatre.
Their creations Your Love Is Fire (2017), Days In The Sun (2018), Reine Formsache (2019), The Return Of Danton (2021) and Up There (2022) have toured extensively including Theater an der Ruhr, Mülheim; Kammerspiele, München; Made in Germany Festival, Stuttgart; Summerhall, Edinburgh; and Novi Sad, Serbia.
Collective Ma’louba was initiated in 2016 by Theater an der Ruhr to offer professional working conditions to Syrian artists in Germany. It was company in residence until 2021 and still rehearses there.
“A nuanced piece of meta theatre about revolution and German theatre … a clever, multi-dimensional piece of writing.” The Stage on Mudar Alhaggi’s The Return of Danton (2021)
“This is an intelligent and important play, that hopefully will be recognised beyond a niche context, but seen as a mature contribution to the European theatre sector.” - Nachtkritik on Wael Kadour & Mohamad Al Rashi’s Up There (2022)
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"Tense mystery of missing writer and Nazi fugitive - slippery, intriguing and full of nuance" The Guardian ★★★★
"A striking piece of theatre that will stay for me for a long time, probably forever" Theatre Reviews North ★★★★
"Successful theatre that creates empathy and brings us closer to the experience of others" Leipziger Volkszeitung
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Text: Mudar Alhaggi
Direction: Omar Elerian
Actors: Wael Kadour and Mohammad Al Rashi
Design: Jonas Vogt
Sound & Music: Vincent Commaret
Research and dramaturgical advice: Erik Altorfer
Producer International: Eckhard ThiemannCo-produced by: euro-scene leipzig, Theater an der Ruhr and Factory International.
Supported by Fonds Darstellende Kultur – Rechercheförderung, Berlin Mondiale and 1927 Art Space - Athens.
A coproduction with Theater an der Ruhr supported by The Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia.
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Apr 17, 2026: Teatro Nuovo Ateneo, Rome, Italy
Nov 10, 2025 – Nov 11, 2025: HAU, Berlin, Germany
Oct 25, 2025 – Oct 26, 2025: D-Caf Festival, Cairo, Egypt
Oct 12, 2025: Theater an der Ruhr, Mülheim, Germany
Sep 19, 2025: Masahat Festival, Oslo, Norway
Sep 10, 2025 – Sep 13, 2025: Sogar Theater, Zürich, Switzerland
Jul 18, 2025: Mittelfest, Cividale del Friuli, Italy
Jun 19, 2025: Derida Stage, Sofia, Bulgaria
Jun 15, 2025: Vratsa Theatre, Bulgaria
Jun 4, 2025: Carlow Arts Festival, Carlow, Ireland
May 15, 2025: Odia Theater, Pristina, Kosovo (exact date TBC)
May 10, 2025: El Hamra Théatre de Tous les Arts, Tunis, Tunisa
Apr 6, 2025: Theater an der Ruhr, Mülheim, Germany
Nov 17, 2024: Theater an der Ruhr, Mülheim, Germany
May 1, 2024: Theater an der Ruhr, Mülheim, Germany
Mar 21, 2024 – Mar 23, 2024: Factory International, Manchester, UK
Dec 3, 2023: Theater an der Ruhr, Mülheim, Germany
Nov 11, 2023 – Nov 12, 2023: Euro Scene, Leipzig, Germany
Sep 29, 2023: Spandau, Berlin, Germany
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For more information, check availability, please contact eckhard@eckhardthiemann.com.