When does the performance begin?

The performance begins on 11.09.2026 at 20:00.

How much is the admission?

The regular admission is 17 euros, reduced 15 euros.

Where does the play take place?

At the Orgelfabrik Halle in Karlsruhe-Durlach, Amthausstraße 17-19, 76227 Karlsruhe.

Is the venue accessible?

The Orgelfabrik Halle on the ground floor is accessible via a disabled lift.

How do I get to the Orgelfabrik by public transport?

The city of Karlsruhe mentions tram line 1 with stops at Friedrichschule or Schlossplatz as well as the city and regional trains to Durlach Bahnhof with a transfer to line 1.

Are there notes on tickets and reservations?

Tickets can be reserved online via the theater's website or by email; according to the program, tickets are also available at the box office.

A mysterious family secret unfolds in Karlsruhe captivating theater magic

Name: IT WAS TWENTY TO NINE
Start: 2026-09-11T22:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-09-12T00:00:00+02:00
Location: Orgelfabrik Halle

A summer evening full of puzzles, inheritances, and eerie expectations

With “It was twenty to nine”, the theater in the Orgelfabrik presents its own play, which atmospherically recalls Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and translates it into its own, grotesquely vibrant theatrical world. Between a decaying house, a vanished mistress of the house, and a family celebration that becomes a psychological trapdoor, an on-stage experience full of secrets, mistrust, and dark humor unfolds.

Miss Havisham, stagnation, and a clock that won’t tick

At the center is Miss Havisham, the enigmatic woman in the half-decayed house, whose life seems trapped in amber. All clocks stand still, the past is not past, but looms like a heavy shadow in the room. This is precisely where the production derives its tension: from the friction between frozen time and a story that simmers beneath the surface. The theater relies on a dramaturgy in which every question opens new doors and every answer leads to further complications.

Family conflicts with double meanings

When the Pockets’ relatives arrive for the birthday visit, the atmosphere shifts from polite anticipation to a finely tuned power play. Money, inheritance, and claims are not loudly displayed but negotiated with the razor-sharp understatement of grotesque theater. Raymond, George, Sarah, and young Philip form a cast of characters that makes human desires visible in the tightest of spaces. The direction uses this constellation for a precise play of suspicion, irony, and inner unrest.

A house as a stage of memory

The Orgelfabrik Halle offers the appropriate resonance space for this story: a place with charm, edges, and the right amount of patina. It is precisely this theatrical atmosphere that carries the piece because it absorbs the morbid tone of the source material without making it feel museum-like. Stage, light, and acoustics transform the house itself into a co-actor. Thus, a rare moment emerges in which space and action become almost inseparable, and the audience physically feels the closeness, tension, and expectation.

Premiere with Karlsruhe flair

The theater in the Orgelfabrik has been presenting summer pieces with its own signature for decades. This premiere also relies on original texts, grotesque intensification, and a performance style that combines entertainment with intellectual depth. The production does not see itself as a mere retelling but as an independent approach to Dickens’ world: literarily inspired, theatrically precise, and with a clear joy in narrative risk. That is exactly where its strength lies.

Why visiting is worth it

“It was twenty to nine” promises a theater evening full of puzzles, atmosphere, and clever punchlines. Anyone looking for an unusual family story, literary echoes, and an intense live experience in a special setting should not miss this date. This performance invites you to think along, to get caught up, and to be swept away by a eerily curious birthday celebration.