PLAY: Thoughts on the Series
In uncertain times live art plays an increasingly important and diverse range of roles. Sometimes it must call power to account, sometimes it must place our present within the context of our past, sometimes it must show us where our actions may lead us in the future. But perhaps most of all it must provide us with space to commune, to connect, to remind ourselves, in the breadth and range of our differences, just how powerful the commonalities are that bind us together.
In 2026 Play attempts to create that space. As a season Play is all about artist, audience and community development. It aims to question norms, strengthen existing bonds while also constructing new ones. It opens up the Chamäleon as a venue and the Chamäleon audience to the extraordinary artistic and technical range that exists within contemporary circus today.
For the Chamäleon, Play is both an investment in, and commitment to, contemporary circus itself. Through reduced ticket prices and a comprehensive accompanying program (including panel discussions, introductions and artists Q & As) Play is designed to bring new audiences to circus and to widen the perspective of existing circus audiences. The program pairs this audience approach with increased access for artists. For some artists in the program it will be their debut on the Chamäleon stage, for others it will signify a deeper long term investment in their work. Every piece seeks to widen our understanding of just what contemporary circus can be.
The range and fierce creativity present in the contemporary circus community always astounds us and in 2026 we are bringing together a very special collections of artists and productions for the Chamäleon audience.
Roxana Küwen Arsalan in OMÂ. Photo: Carla Dacal
To open the season choreographer Piet Van Dycke brings his hit, Glorious Bodies to Berlin for the first time. 6 acrobats between 57 and 69 years old show that what the body may lose in explosiveness it gains in delicacy and wisdom. The physical mastery and joy of connection on display in Glorious Bodies has created a powerful connection with audiences around Europe, it is truly circus archived in the body.
It’s rare that a solo can so powerfully investigate pain, vulnerability, negotiation, consent and care as Elena Zanzu does in their groundbreaking work, Ez. If Glorious Bodies is a ‘zoom out’ that looks at interplay and collaborative group dynamics, Ez is fragile ‘zoom in’ that unpacks the bond of trust that exists between performer and audience.
Jarnoth and Moritz Haase in HIER SOWIE DORT. Photo: André Wirsig
Play is also a vehicle through which we make continued investment in our local community of artists and 2026 will see us bring to a close the Berlin based company Raum 305’s trilogy with the local premiere of HIER SOWIE DORT. Moritz Haase and Jarnoth have once again created an otherworldly piece, a playful, beguiling fever dream of a show in which the power dynamics between this mismatched pair are constantly flipped, changed and reinvented.
Ana Jordão’s a body and other objects was developed in 2024 through the Chamäleon’s Residency Program and the show having it’s Berlin premiere as part of Play is symbolic of the strength and depth of the local scene. Jordão, a multi disciplinary artist currently exploring hair hanging, collaborates with rigger Vincent Kollar to create a delicate pas de deux that explores how a multitude of tiny connections, be they physical or emotional, can be the source of the strongest and most profound connection.
The ensemble of Circus Sonnenstich in Mimoto. Photo: Jonas Ruhs
2026 sees the Chamäleon welcome one of Germany’s most beloved circus companies back to Play, Circus Sonnenstich, with their production, Mimoto. The initial version of the piece debuted as part of Play 2024 to sell out houses. Sonnenstich have continued to develop their irreverent and touching exploration of identity staging further seasons over the course of 2025.
Tim Behren’s Köln based company Overhead Project have been at the forefront of German contemporary circus for the last decade, creating genre-defying work at the meeting point between circus and dance. Their duo work Blueprint will see the Company make their long awaited Chamäleon debut, with dancer Mijin Kim and acrobat Leon Börgens creating a tender, playful and dynamic exploration of trust within interpersonal relationships.
Mime superstar Trygve Wakenshaw exploded onto the global scene in the 2010s with a series of rapturously received solos at the Edinburgh Fringe. Silly Little Things is his triumphant return. An absurdly funny, nonverbal look at all the silly little things that can make or break a friendship this is a show to bring your best friend to, or maybe your best enemy.
Vincent Kollar and Ana Jordão in a body and other objects. Photo: Nils Sørensen
The intricacies of heritage and the complexities of prejudice are gently teased out by the foot juggler Roxana Küwen Arsalan in her autobiographical show OMÂ. Arsalan imagines her German Oma and her Iranian Mâdarjun meeting for tea and gossiping about their mutual granddaughter. Funny and heartfelt this is a piece for anyone with roots that lead back to multiple homes.
Palianytsia is the name of a traditional Ukranian bread, one that can be prepared even under very difficult conditions, a symbol of resilience in a culture under threat. Compagnie Zalatai have created an extraordinary and deeply touching piece that explores how two people maintain their connection while under extreme danger. Backed by a live folk trio, juggler Alexander Koblikov and multi cord artist Charlotte de la Bretèque, combine otherworldly technical skill with deeply personal storytelling to not only reflect on the war in Ukraine but humanity’s ongoing ability to survive and flourish in the face of threat.
Compagnie Zalatai in Palianytsia. Photo: J.L.Chouteau
Over the course of Play 2026 we will connect with artistic perspectives from Germany, France, Ukraine, Portugal, Spain, Czechia, New Zealand, Iran and Belgium. These productions can be experienced in isolation as intricate little islands or all together, as interlinked stepping-stones of a broader overarching narrative.
Play 2026 – Stories of the many.
Stories of us.
