Sie sagt. Er sagt

DER SPIEGEL magazine calls him a "great storyteller", the British "Independent" compares him to Kafka and Kleist - we are talking about bestselling author Ferdinand von Schirach.

In his new play, he deals with the dilemma that in cases of sexual violence it is almost always a case of testimony against testimony. In February 2024, an audience of millions watched the television version of the play.

Katharina Schlüter, a successful TV presenter, accuses her former lover, entrepreneur Dr. Christian Tiede, of raping her.

There are no witnesses to this offense, and so everything in the criminal trial revolves around the question of credibility. There is a lot at stake for both the accused and the plaintiff: their private and professional futures as well as their reputations depend largely on whose version the court will confirm.

The play shows how complicated it is to reach a verdict in such cases and how closely it is linked to social values and prevailing prejudices. "What are you supposed to think when, after exhausting all the evidence, all that remains is: "She says. He says."?", says Ferdinand von Schirach.

After "Gott" at the Altonaer Theater, "Sie sagt. Er sagt" is the second gripping courtroom drama by Ferdinand von Schirach that Axel Schneider will stage, this time as the season opener at the Hamburg Kammerspiele.

Premiere on September 06, 2025
Performances until November 27, 2025

By Ferdinand von Schirach

Director: Axel Schneider
Dialogue direction: Stine Kegel
Costumes: Sarah Yekani Zare
Dramaturgy: Anja Del Caro

With Franz-Joseph Dieken, Katrin Gerken, Dirk Hoener/Ingo Meß, Lisa Karlström, Andrea Lüdke, Antje Otterson and Pierre Sanoussi-Bliss/Sewan Latchinian