Transit – an unsettling journey through the paradoxes of decades … The five texts that make up »Wolokolamsker Chaussee I-V« begin just outside of Moscow in 1941 and end in East Berlin in the mid-1980s. This makes up nearly half a century. Countless stories of resistance and rebellion, of the pull of the system, of individual happiness and unhappiness lie buried in this half of the 20th century.

Heiner Müller (1929-95) is one of the most important German dramatists of the 20th century. In the individual texts of »Wolokolamsker Chaussee«, written between 1984 and 1987, he references subjects and texts by Alexander Bek, Anna Seghers, Franz Kafka and Heinrich von Kleist. The five-part apocalypse in verse deals with topics concerning one’s own freedom to act, arbitrariness and the consequences of political actions. Following the presentations of the individual parts, the premiere of the entire production under the direction of Karl Georg Kayser was shown at Schauspiel Leipzig on 01 November 1989, in the times of upheaval. Heiner Müller also achieved recognition as a poet, essayist, author of radio plays and as a director.

Philipp Preuss, born in 1974 in Bregenz, studied directing and acting at Mozarteum Salzburg. He has worked as a freelance director and visual artist since 2001. His productions have been seen, amongst other venues, at Schauspielhaus Bochum, Theater Dortmund, Schauspiel Frankfurt and Deutsches Theater Berlin. He directed for the first time at Schauspiel Leipzig in the 2013/14 season.