We are in the age of inheritance. Around 250 billion euros are bequeathed in Germany every year.

At the same time, state structures are under pressure: social and cultural budgets are shrinking. In their new performative work "Showdown" (AT), subbotnik explores individual and collective experiences of inheritance and transforms them into a playful exercise in dispute. Between show, theater and negotiation space, the performers not only take over property as inheritance administrators - but also debts, traumas, privileges and open family conflicts. In newly formed inheritance communities, they divide and rethink: Who gets what? Who is left out? And what does inheritance mean in a society in which property is always political? A chorus of citizens condenses the voices of the audience - the polyphonic dispute opens up a view of the utopia of a new way of dealing with what is passed on!

Press comment:

"[...] There are many controversial topics on the table. It's about inheritance in the narrower sense, about disputes in a small family setting, about personal injuries. But also very big, social issues [...]"
(WAZ, Andrea Müller, 04.11.2025)

A co-production of subbotnik with FFT Düsseldorf and Theater an der Ruhr, in collaboration with Orangerie Theater Köln.

Concept: subbotnik | Performance, text, music: Kornelius Heidebrecht, Nadja Duesterberg, Maria Trautmann, Oleg Zhukov, Rolf Springer, Timafei Birukov | Scenography: Jakob Engel | Dramaturgical advice: Anna Bründl, Felizitas Stilleke | Production management: Franzi Hauser, Esther Schneider | Management: Béla Bisom/transmissions | Citizens' choir: Tanja Baldreich, Barbara Bungartz, Kansas Bungartz, Anna Conrads, Susanne Degenhardt, Lea Frohne, Mechthild Gildenstern, Lena Heidebrecht, Lena Heimann, Nicole Hörtemöller, Zelal Kisin, Jeany Lammert, Vanessa Neutsch, Elke Nyhuis, Frauke Zbikowski, Leandra Zbikowski, Louisa Zbikowski, Lisa Zimmermann, Mina Zimmermann | Assistant directors: Rosanna Veza Schardt | Internship: Carlotta Arminia Kramer, Pina Wagner

Supported by: Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Cultural Office of the City of Cologne, Cultural Office of the State Capital Düsseldorf, Kunststiftung NRW, Fonds Darstellende Künste.