Oliver Zahn – Sophiensæle | Freies Theater in Berlin

Oliver Zahn is a theatre-maker and performer. His choreographic performance-essays are always rooted in extensive research—ethnographic, archival, and embodied self-experiments. His previous works include Situation mit ausgestrecktem Arm (2015, exploring the cultural history of the “Hitler salute” gesture); the Tanzfonds Erbe production Zweiter Versuch über das Turnen (presented as the main act at HAU Hebbel am Ufer, examining German identity and the notion of belonging to the “Volkskörper” through the history and practice of the German gymnastics movement); and Lob des Vergessens (on forgetting as a productive social practice), along with its online desktop continuation, Lob des Vergessens, Teil II. In December 2024, the solo performance Reinheit (about compulsion, hygiene, and security) premiered in cooperation with Ballhaus Ost. Oliver Zahn’s works have been featured at major festivals in the German-speaking region (including Tanzplattform, steirischer herbst, Donaufestival, SPIELART, Kampnagel Sommerfestival, and multiple editions of IMPULSE) and venues such as HAU, Sophiensæle, Mousonturm, PACT Zollverein, FFT, Tanzhaus NRW, Hellerau, Kaserne Basel, and Münchner Kammerspiele. Internationally, his works have toured Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, the UK, Poland, France, Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Tunisia, the West Bank, and India.