Carmen Maria Machado's searing memoir becomes a visceral theatrical exploration at the Berliner Ensemble. This intimate 80-minute work traces the harrowing love story of a literature student and her relationship with a charismatic, destructive woman—a tale marked by psychological manipulation and emotional violence.

Director Jules Head brings remarkable depth to Machado's genre-defying narrative, weaving between romance, confession, spy thriller, and self-help manual. Each form functions as a mask the narrator uses to process and reclaim ownership of her own story. The production's emotional core rests on a devastating observation often left unspoken: domestic violence exists within same-sex relationships and remains deeply taboo.

Amelie Willberg and Amal Keller inhabit this intimate space with stunning precision, excavating the psychological mechanisms of trauma and survival. What unfolds is not the utopian vision of queer love often romanticized in literature, but rather a courageous interrogation of power, manipulation, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. This is essential contemporary theater about naming abuse, archiving pain, and reclaiming agency.

Performed in the Werkraum (200 seats), this unflinching work asks difficult questions about love, violence, and the possibility of healing.

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