Die Werft

Die WERFT (The shipyard) has become something like a small institution of off-culture in the Hessian capital. Its own 80-seat venue, waiting lists for tickets in the upper three-digit range and numerous prizes, including the Audience Award of the International May Festival and the Exground Film Festival, show that ambitious productions on social issues are getting great response. Especially when we are not talking about marginalised groups in society, whether right-wing radicals, Islamists or simply self-confessed criminals, but when these people are part of the creative process.

About collective laughter and the wide gait

With Die WERFT, we have attempted a very broad balancing act from the beginning: effective intervention work with young men at risk of extremism or extremists on the one hand, and on the other hand, creative work that is not only interesting but also entertaining for a broad audience. The genres we used are diverse and range from short film to performance, classical theatre productions, readings and multimedia art actions, everything is included. The genre in most cases is dramatic comedy. Sometimes a good punch line works better than raising awareness - and such a balancing act itself already hurts. After 14 years of Die WERFT, our gait is definitely a little more wide-legged.

Find more about the individual productions at die-werft.net.