Droste, Haberlandt, Auf der Heyde, Münster: AUF ALLEN VIEREN – A world premiere based on the novel by Miranda July – Sophiensæle | Independent Theater in Berlin

Droste, Haberlandt, Auf der Heyde, Münster:
AUF ALLEN VIEREN – A world premiere based on the novel by Miranda July

Two performers stand back to back with their arms extended. Both wear yellow tops and are partially covered in white foam spread across shoulders, arms, and back. One person tilts their head backward and smiles while stage lighting highlights the scene.
Back to the start page

Miranda July’s bestselling novel All Fours centers on an extraordinary woman who, midway through her life, casts aside every convention. She abandons her familiar surroundings, checks into a roadside motel, and embarks on a radical experiment in self-discovery. What follows are three weeks filled with ecstasy, control, desire, emptiness – and an unexpected transformation. At the heart of her journey lies a stark question: What does it mean to live in a society that so often renders menopausal women invisible?

The novel offers a bold, unfiltered response. Its international success highlights a striking gap in contemporary literature: the lack of stories about middle-aged women. Enthusiastic readers encounter a narrative rarely told, despite the fact that countless women know all too well the inevitability of bodily change and the challenges it brings – to self-perception, relationships, daily life and desire. This makes the protagonist’s sudden, groundbreaking sense of agency all the more electrifying as she pursues her own “what if.” Like peering through a keyhole, readers find themselves drawn into the motel room, seduced into unleashing thoughts of their own.

For this world premiere, directors Sabine Auf der Heyde and Holle Münster collaborate with acclaimed actors Meike Droste and Fritzi Haberlandt to create an immersive space where fiction and reality dissolve into one another. With unflinching intensity, they explore what it means to break free of social expectations, to redefine female desire, and to reclaim one’s identity.

Miranda July’s novel All Fours was published in 2024 and was a finalist for the National Book Awards. It is the second novel by the artist, who has also made a name for herself as a filmmaker and performance artist.

Evening information

Please note that details may change by the day of the event. Therefore, if you find out after you have purchased your ticket that the performance is no longer accessible to you, you can contact us for a ticket return at ticketing@sophiensaele.com or 030 27 89 00 45 until 5 business days after the event (Monday through Friday between 10am and 6pm).

Early Boarding

  • Es besteht die Möglichkeit zum Early Boarding. Eine Lautsprecherdurchsage macht einige Minuten vorher darauf aufmerksam.

Duration

  • Approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes without intermission

Language

  • German spoken language
  • The play is very text-heavy.
  • A translation into written English is available via smartphone.

Light

  • At one point, there are lighting effects using a disco ball.

Other

  • The play deals with suicide and traumatic birth experiences.

Tickets

  • Reservations can be made via the ticket telephone at 030 283 52 66, Monday to Friday from 4pm-6pm
  • Via the online ticket shop
  • At the box office

You can also find more information about accessibility at the house here.

Direction: Sabine Auf der Heyde, Holle Münster
Performance: Meike Droste, Fritzi Haberlandt
Set design: Hanna Roxane Scherwinski
Dramaturgy: Carolin Losch
Video: Isabel Robson
Music, composition: Sarah Taylor Ellis
Choreography assistance: Valentina Bordenave
Light design, technical direction: Anahí Pérez
Assistant director, stage management: Freja Sande
Production management: Marit Buchmeier, Lisanne Grotz / xplus3 Produktionsbüro
Production, touring: Nicole Schuchardt

This production uses the Libretto42 smartphone subtitling app from lemon 42.
Use of video material of tiger slug (Leopard maximus) courtesy of Dr. Uzay Ugur Sezen and Siegfried Wand

A production by Münster Auf der Heyde in co-production with Sophiensæle. Co-production with the Théatres de la Ville de Luxembourg and Theater im Pumpenhaus Münster. Funded by the Capital Cultural Fund. With kind permission from Kiepenheuer & Witsch. Translation by Stefanie Jacobs. Media partners: Missy Magazine, Siegessäule, taz.

A new quartet was formed for the production Auf allen vieren (All Fours):

Meike Droste graduated from the Otto Falckenberg School and has performed at the Munich Kammerspiele, the Berliner Ensemble, the Deutsches Theater Berlin, and the Burgtheater Vienna, among others. She has played leading roles in numerous film and television productions and is the recipient of the FAUST Theater Prize for Best Actress (2009). Her leading role in the multi-award-winning television production Mord mit Aussicht made her famous throughout Germany.

Fritzi Haberlandt studied at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin and has performed at the Schauspiel Hannover, Thalia Theater Hamburg, and Deutsches Theater Berlin, among others. She received two German Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress (2004 & 2017) and most recently the FAUST Theater Award for Best Actress for Angabe der Person (2023).

Sabine Auf der Heyde is a theater director, lecturer, and social justice and diversity trainer. She has directed at various theaters in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Her artistic and educational work combines critical cultural theories – in particular gender studies, postcolonial theory, and social justice – with the core aspects of theater: play, fiction, language, and representation. Her productions focus on collaboration with contemporary authors, most recently with Anke Stelling and Kim de l’Horizon.

Holle Münster works as a theater maker, curator and professor of acting. A central focus of her artistic activity is her work with the theater collective Prinzip Gonzo, where she creates genre-defining participatory game theater formats. She has also staged numerous plays and novels by contemporary and classical authors, both at municipal theaters and in the independent scene.

  • Two performers stand closely together on a stage with a red floor. Both wear white ruffled costumes, short pants, and lilac boots. One person whispers or speaks close to the other’s ear while the other holds their head with one hand. Colorful floral projections are visible behind them.
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • Two performers sit inside an opened, cabinet-like stage prop with shelves. Both wear yellow tops, light shorts, and lilac boots. They sit facing each other in the middle compartment; one person holds a large metal pan and a kitchen utensil. The shelves contain folded fabrics, clothing, food props, and household objects. A yellow garment and a lilac robe hang on the inside of the cabinet doors.
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • Two performers stand on a brightly lit stage in front of a white, cube-like room installation with rectangular openings. One person in the foreground wears a yellow sleeveless top, light shorts, and a light blue ribbon around the neck, bends forward and clenches their fists while laughing. A second person in the background wears a white outfit with shorts, tall lilac boots, and a similar ribbon, gesturing with tense hands.
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • A performer stands on a stage with a red floor in front of a bed with a grey cover and yellow pillows. The person wears a yellow sleeveless top and light shorts and holds a microphone. With one arm raised, the performer sings or calls into the microphone while warm stage lighting illuminates the scene.
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • A performer lies half-reclined on a bed or padded surface, leaning against a large cushion or object with a snake-like pattern. The person wears a yellow sleeveless top, looks calmly to the side, and is illuminated by warm stage lighting.
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • Two performers are on a stage with a red floor. One person lies arched backwards over a bed or mattress, while another stands next to an upright mattress holding a yellow pillow. The walls of the room installation are covered with a bright green, abstract video projection.
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • Two performers are on a stage with a red floor in front of a white room installation with floral video projections. One person sits on a white mattress in the center of the stage, wearing a yellow sleeveless top, light shorts, and lilac boots, gesturing with their hands. A second person sits on the floor to the left, leaning against an upright mattress with two yellow pillows.
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • Two performers sit back to back on a white mattress. Both wear white ruffled costumes, short pants, and lilac boots. One person looks forward with clasped hands, while the other tilts their head backward. Large-scale floral projections appear behind them.
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • Two performers stand close together in front of a white mattress. Both wear white ruffled costumes and short pants. One person rests their head on the other’s shoulder while the other gestures with one hand. Floral projections cover the room installation in the background.
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • Two performers stand closely together on a stage with a red floor. Both wear white ruffled costumes, short pants, and lilac boots. One person whispers or speaks close to the other’s ear while the other holds their head with one hand. Colorful floral projections are visible behind them.
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • A performer stands on a white mattress with arms outstretched, looking upward. The person wears a white ruffled costume, short pants, and lilac boots. Large-scale projections of faces appear on the walls of the room installation, layered with floral imagery.
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • Two performers sit inside an opened, cabinet-like stage prop with shelves. Both wear yellow tops, light shorts, and lilac boots. They sit facing each other in the middle compartment; one person holds a large metal pan and a kitchen utensil. The shelves contain folded fabrics, clothing, food props, and household objects. A yellow garment and a lilac robe hang on the inside of the cabinet doors.
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • Two performers are on a stage with a red floor next to an opened cabinet-like stage prop. Both wear yellow ruffled costumes and lilac boots. One performer kneels in front of the cabinet, gesturing with outstretched arms, while another performer stands further forward, raising their hands while speaking or singing. A white mattress lies on the stage to the right.
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • Two performers stand close together with their arms around each other’s shoulders. Both wear yellow tops and light shorts; one performer additionally wears a translucent yellow over-garment with a ruffled collar. They look in different directions while remaining closely connected.
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • Two performers stand against a wall of the room installation next to a rectangular opening. They hold hands and push against each other while one person leans through the opening. Lines of projected text appear on the wall. Both wear yellow ruffled costumes.
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • Two persons stand next to each other on a stage in front of a dark background. Both wear yellow sleeveless bodysuits and are partially covered with white foam spread across their upper bodies, arms, and hands. Both persons smile and hold foam in their hands. A pink basin edge is visible behind them at the lower edge of the image.
    © Mayra Wallraff