A divine comedy with earthly explosive power: Maria Lazar's "Hell on Earth" is being performed for the first time in Germany at Theater Magdeburg - a long-forgotten play between satire, diagnosis of the times and heavenly chaos.
It is the 760,839,000th anniversary of the creation of the world - but the mood in heaven is anything but festive. A new world war is imminent and the leaders of the League of Nations agree: only God himself can save humanity. But the Almighty has no intention of giving up his well-earned retirement. So Peter and two angels have to be sent to Earth to rectify the situation - but no one there believes in divine messengers any more.
The Viennese author Maria Lazar, who fled into exile in Denmark in 1933 because of her Jewish origins, wrote a comedy of mistaken identity that is as quirky as it is clear-sighted in Die Hölle auf Erden (Hell on Earth), which remained undiscovered for almost 90 years. With sharp wit and surprising topicality, it poses the question of how much faith, hope and morality remain in a world that has lost itself.
The German premiere at Theater Magdeburg is directed by Julia Prechsl, whose work captivates with its precise characterization and subtle irony. She studied directing at the Theaterakademie August Everding and has already worked at renowned theatres such as the Staatstheater Kassel, the Staatstheater Darmstadt and the Residenztheater Munich. Her Magdeburg production Jagdszenen was included in the 10 selection of the Nachtkritik-Theatertreffen in 2024; Luisa Wandschneider's costume design received the German Theater Prize DER FAUST in the same year.
With Die Hölle auf Erden, Theater Magdeburg brings a forgotten voice of exile literature to the stage - clever, provocative and with disarming humor.
Premiere January 23, 2026
