On the discomfort of Living

Lecture performance with tea and slides (play)

New dates for 2026 within the framework of the MADE IN HESSE For festival dates and tickets, see dates & tickets

In an intimate living room setting, Eleonora L. Herder searches for the hidden echoes of her family history. Using documents and objects, she presents an alternative perspective on German-Jewish identity, in which the boundaries between politics and the private sphere, as well as between the roles of opera and perpetrator, blur. While one great-grandfather was a high-ranking National Socialist who marched alongside Adolf Hitler to the Feldherrnhalle during the 1923 Hitler Putsch in Munich, the other great-grandfather's family was forced to flee due to their Jewish heritage and was torn apart by the consequences of exile.

The fact that her grandparents, from two very different families, finally met in the 1950s, fell in love, and had eight children seals the beginning of a tragic family odyssey marked by silence and mental illness, leading from Como, Rome, and Barcelona to Santa Barbara, California. Eleonora L. Herder spent over ten years gathering material from archives and personal sources to break her family's silence. As she continually discovers new documents and photos and conducts further conversations, the text underlying the play changes from performance to performance.

The production creates a homely setting: Herder speaks directly to the audience, while performer Liese Lyon serves tea and biscuits, and Jonas Harksen provides musical accompaniment on the grand piano. A ghostly, echoing sound design breaks through the cozy salon atmosphere, creating a subtle sense of unease.
The audience is invited to follow Herder's research process and to engage with the questions, doubts and uncertainties associated with it.

Language: German

Duration: approx. 75 minutes

Text and direction: Eleonora L. Herder Performance: Lela Herder, Jonas Harksen and Liese Lyon
Piano: Jonas Harksen
Dramaturgy and research: Tim Schuster Stage, costume & lighting: Marina Rengel Lucena
Sound design and composition: Jonas Harksen Video: Ayla Pierrot Voice-over: Beatrice Magnus-Wiebel Creative Producer: Elena Polzer (honest work – independent cultural office) Production management: Martin Heise Video documentation: Angela Regius (Image Rush Collective)
Graphics: Anna Pirot and Felix Kosok (Bureau 069)

In memory of Simon

Supported by the Cultural Office of the City of Frankfurt, the Hessian Ministry of Science and Art, the Rudolf Augstein Foundation and the Performing Arts Fund.

With kind support from Villa Gründergeist.

Andpartnersincrime receives multi-year funding from the city of Frankfurt am Main.

New dates for 2026 within the framework of the MADE IN HESSE Festivals

Thursday, May 28th, 11:00 AM, Theateratelier 14H Offenbach, performance of the living room version for school classes

Thursday, May 28th, 8:00 PM, Theateratelier 14H Offenbach, living room version, regular audience

Saturday, May 30th, around 8:00 PM, Mollerhaus Theater in Darmstadt, performance of the large stage version

Past events at Frankfurt LAB, Schmidtstraße 12, 60326 Frankfurt am Main

Sat. 31.05.25, 8:00 PM (Premiere)
Sun. 01.06.25, 16:00 (with childcare)
Sun. 01.06.25, 7:00 PM
Frankfurt LAB, Schmidtstraße 12, 60326 Frankfurt am Main

The performance was enthusiastically received by audiences and the press in six sold-out performances in December 2023. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung praised: “About the discomfort of living raises questions of identity that extend far beyond the circle of the family.” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)

"Living on the Discomfort of Life" promises curious characters and beautiful photographs. It's an intimate evening event for all those who, just before Christmas, aren't in the mood for the typical, kitschy Christmas plays and instead are interested in current affairs and politics over a cup of tea, says Polzer. Journal Frankfurt

„On the discomfort of living“ is a tentative performance, a touching one. Some things you recognize from your own family, others sound quite wild.“ Frankfurter Rundschau

At first, it's comfortable. Research into family history. With slides. In a living room. Research that is always true and becomes increasingly bizarre. Two family histories from diametrically opposed directions, meeting in the same generation. It becomes more unsettling. The culture of remembrance. Sigmund Freud speaks of unease.
And Aleida Assmann and Eleonora Herder – and everyone who saw the play. Only life could write this plot. A story about the country, about trauma, about silence and perseverance. Keep your eyes open, keep asking questions, still. This play is an encouragement to research – which doesn't always reveal so much.
will promote. Jury statement of the MADE Festival Hessen