Name: IT WAS TWENTY TO NINE
Start: 2026-09-12T22:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-09-13T00:00:00+02:00
Location: Orgelfabrik Halle

A mysterious birthday party with dark secrets

With IT WAS TWENTY TO NINE, the theater in the organ factory presents a new stage work by Gabriele Michel and Franco Rosa – inspired by Charles Dickens and his novel Great Expectations. The production takes you right into a house full of stopped clocks, locked memories, and family tensions. What starts as a birthday visit unfolds as a colorful theater experience between intrigue, inheritance disputes, and the eerie question of a long-ago night.

A house where time no longer moves forward

The atmosphere of this performance thrives on an image that immediately sticks: a nearly dilapidated house, a wealthy old woman, a vanished past. Miss Havisham remains the mysterious center of events, even as everything around her shifts. This is precisely where the dramatic tension of the evening lies: the stage becomes a resonance space for memory, greed, hope, and repression. The audience experiences a play that does not rely on quick effects but on the slow, precise uncovering of a family wound.

Grotesque characters, strong conflicts, lively acting

The ensemble depicts a world where each character pursues their own motives. The Pockets, Philip, Mr. Jaggers, and the enigmatic Miss Havisham form a web of interests, expectations, and deceptions. It is this mix of grotesque comedy and dark insinuation that gives the production its charm. The theater in the organ factory has stood for world premieres with literary breath and eerie-grotesque imprint for years; this piece continues that tradition and combines a classic source with its own, unmistakable style.

The organ factory as a stage with a special theater atmosphere

The performance venue adds extra density to the evening. The organ factory hall is an unusual theater space with just under 100 seats, creating closeness between stage and audience. In such a setting, every detail unfolds more immediately: light, language, pauses, glances. The barrier-free accessible hall on the ground floor and the good connection via the Durlach Schlossplatz and Durlach Friedrichschule stops make the visit pleasantly manageable. Those seeking theater as an intense stage experience will find here a place with charm, clarity, and historical aura.

A summer piece with literary depth

The advance reporting already indicates what culture enthusiasts can look forward to: a curious birthday celebration, a chamber play of motives, a story from old times with astonishing relevance. This combination of Dickens's echo, new text version, and the specific playing style of the house promises an evening that not only entertains but resonates. Anyone in the mood for a cleverly constructed play with atmosphere, ensemble strength, and narrative tension should mark this date and experience it live.