NO PRISON

In summer 2026 the Theaterformen festival will have the unique opportunity to stage performances in a vacant prison in Braunschweig. The facility had been used to incarcerate and punish people since 1885 – from the times of the monarchy, the Nazi dictatorship and postwar democracy. Before the historically listed JVA Rennelberg prison is sold, there is a brief window of time to initiate and present artistic interventions inside. In the cells, corridors, common rooms and outdoor prison yards, the festival will present a variety of new site-specific performative works, collective action and performative processes by international artist collectives. These include Nicoleta Esinencu & teatru-spălătorie from the Republic of Moldova, the Chilean collective LASTESIS and the Brazilian collective MEXA, which creatively reflect on the institution of prison in different political systems and utopian concepts of community as an answer to violence.

Artistic direction: Anna Mülter
Artists: Nicoleta Esinencu & teatru-spălătorie, LASTESIS, Sonya Lindfors, MEXA, Public Movement and others

Dates

18 June 2026 – 28 June 2026: Performances
Former prison JVA Rennelberg, | Braunschweig