TELL ME WHY. Aids im Köln der 80er – Oder: Die Angst vor der Unberechenbarkeit der vielarmigen Krake

In the organizer's words:

That's what it's all about

"Tell Me Why. Aids in Cologne in the 80s. Or: The fear of the unpredictability of the many-armed octopus" takes viewers on a journey through time: when a pear was chancellor, "Twix" was still called "Raider" and a virus terrified the world.In addition to this look back at the early years of the disease, which divided society (including the queer community) and put solidarity to the test, the Petra P. production office also brings the topic into the here and now together with experts: Has the disease lost its horror? What is it like to live with HIV today?Once again, the boundaries between fiction and documentary are blurred: those who were among the early victims of the disease in the 80s are given a posthumous voice, while at the same time awareness is raised for the concerns of those suffering today - without pointing fingers, but instead imaginatively theatrical, (self-)ironic, cheerful and touching.

That's why you have to go in

In its new participatory project, the queer ensemble, known for brilliantly bridging the gap between high culture and shrill trash, dedicates itself to a topic that is rarely dealt with in the theater: HIV/Aids. Not light fare, but the signature of the production office Petra P. is to tell even serious topics in an unexpectedly entertaining way. Most recently at the Sommerblut Festival 2025 with "Traudl Junge" (awarded the Sommerblut Foundation Prize, nominated for the Cologne Theater Prize and the Kurt Hackenberg Prize for Political Theater): "An evening of theater could hardly be more entertaining and thought-provoking." (Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger)

PSST

In their new participatory project, the Petra P. production office is once again assisted by interesting experts: Aids activists and people living with HIV, including Hans Berlin, a gay porn star. After each performance, one of them will open the audience discussion with a keynote speech.
The production office Petra P. are: Daniel Breitfelder, Johannes Brüssau, Sebastian Kreyer. Firmly anchored in Cologne's independent theater scene, they read a wide variety of que(e)r material, which also means discovering the tragic in the cheerful and the cheerful in the tragic.

A production of the production office Petra P.

Further information: https://www.sommerblut.de/de/veranstaltung/1993-tell-me-why-aids-im-koeln-der-80er