APOLLON- STOP TRYNA BE GOD // waltraud900

Winners of the 2026 Youth Theater Festival
Drawing on mythology, pop culture, and their own experiences, the performers explore various conceptions of masculinity—ranging from societal constructs and expectations to personal reality.—Jury of the Theatertreffen der Jugend

Does Apollo embody the perfect man? It certainly seems so! The Greek god is superhumanly beautiful. Potent and powerful. An infallible archer. And, to top it all off, leader of the Muses. At the same time, however, his mythological biography also tells of desire that transcends rigid gender stereotypes. And it reveals unexpected fissures. In *APOLLON*, the artists of waltraud900 now explore how ideals of masculinity are passed down, reenacted, and reproduced. Together with musician Uğur Kepenek, aka Busy Beast, and an ensemble of eleven young people, they are creating a performative experiment that bridges myth and the present—drawing on diverse cultural perspectives. Today’s young gods climb down from Mount Olympus. They summon the Oracle of Delphi. They defeat the Python. They deconstruct male role models and reassemble them. Where are the sons of the future headed?

German spoken language (+ Arabic, Chinese, Greek, and Russian)
90 min, no intermission

Concept and Idea: waltraud900Performance: Gustav Becker, Bowen Gao, Nuragha Gasimov, Ioannis Andonov, Amin Hubricht, Simon Karol Gabriel Ilga, Uğur Kepenek, Andreas Spektorov, Zhengli Wang, Timo Walek, Fabio Wilson, Juri Win WintersigDirection: Bianca KünzelSet Design: Ria PapadopoulouChoreography: Phaedra PisimisiChoreography Collaboration: Mohammed Marouf AlhassanText / Rap: Sıtkı Uğur Kepenek;Dramaturgy: Dorle Trachternach;Music / Musical Direction: Linda BockholtLighting Design: Eckehard MerholzSound Engineering: Thorsten RungeProduction Manager: Katrin WiesemannProduction Assistant: Theo GatzkaPhotography: Christian KniepsCo-production Partners: FFT Düsseldorf, Theater im PumpenhausFunded bythe Cultural Affairs Office of the City of Düsseldorf, the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (Diversity Fund), and the Performing Arts Fund with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media