MIF is delighted to announce that Returning to Reims (Rückkehr nach Reims) has been invited to the Berliner Theatertreffen 2018, the prestigious festival showcasing the past year’s best German-language theatre.

From its world premiere at MIF17, Thomas Ostermeier’s Returning to Reims has made a lasting impact on both audiences and critics as an intelligent and urgent reflection on the new world order with a magnetic and mesmerising performance from Nina Hoss. This remarkable show continues to impress as it travels across the world. Returning to Reims is one of just ten selected plays considered by the jury to be the most noteworthy productions of the year.

“Ostermeier extends the boundaries of political theatre by showing that, in adapting a book, you can turn the stage into a source of living debate.”
The Guardian

“Thanks to Manchester International Festival I was able to produce Returning to Reims. John McGrath’s invitation gave me the opportunity to adapt this important political book for the stage at what seemed like exactly the right moment in time. The aesthetics and the way we developed the project are quite different from my previous work, it was an experiment for which I had to leave my comfort zone. Thus I’m more than happy that it gets recognized as an important production of the last season by the Berlin Theatertreffen.”

Thomas Ostermeier, Director of Returning to Reims and Artistic Director of Schaubühne Berlin.

Returning to Reims premiered at MIF17 as a Trailblazer for The Factory, the flagship cultural centre in Manchester led by MIF in partnership with Manchester City Council. The Trailblazer series offers a glimpse of The Factory’s programme ahead of its opening in 2020, exemplifying the energy, ambition, and scale of the work to be made in this remarkable new space.

In addition to being presented at Theatertreffen in May, Returning to Reims will have its American premiere at St Ann’s Warehouse in New York this month and runs from 4 – 25 February.

Commissioned by the Schaubühne Berlin and Manchester International Festival and produced by the Schaubühne Berlin, Manchester International Festival, HOME, Manchester and Théâtre de la Ville.