6 GB: Ping-Pong Politics

With their new piece “16 GB: Ping-Pong Politics”, the Theater an der Parkaue – Junges Staatstheater Berlin spotlights a young generation impacted by educational disadvantages, a steady stream of crises and the sense of not truly being seen. The play focuses on adolescents with an immigrant background and asks: Whose stories are being told? How much space do different perspectives in society receive? With this play, the organisers hope to critically examine the role of theatres and their mechanisms of exclusion.

The aim of the piece is to surmount social extremes and animate young people to meet each other in a public venue – at the ping-pong table – and so doing, become self-empowered and politically engaged. The duration and scope of the project is hinted at in the title. Andaç and Ceren have received a 16 GB memory card as a high school graduation gift and are supposed to make a film. The limited space on the chip serves as a dramaturgical principle. What do you want to say when there’s only a limited amount of space for your story? The siblings decide to show their mother’s rough hands that are marked by hard work and sacrifice. The piece is targeted at audiences ages 14 and up and will be accompanied by an extensive education programme in Berlin Lichtenberg. 

“16 GB: Ping-Pong Politics” by Zehra Sönmez is funded through General Project Funding by the German Federal Cultural Foundation and will premiere at the Theater an der Parkaue in autumn 2026 under the direction of Till Doğan Ertener. Guest performances are planned at the Junges Schauspielhaus Hamburg, Schauspielhaus Zürich and the TEATA in Vienna. The production will be accompanied by a performance club for adolescents and a discussion event format with theatre experts and migration researchers. The play was awarded the 1st Berlin Play Award for Young Audiences and was nominated for the 2025 Heidelberg Play Market festival.

Participating artists: Till Doğan Ertener (direction), Katharina Ernst (music), Bárbara Galego (artistic education and participation), Val Germain (artistic education and participation), Han Le Han (set and costume design), Sabine Salzmann (dramaturgy), Zehra Sönmez (author)
Premiere: Theater an der Parkaue – Junges Staatstheater Berlin, Berlin: end of 2026