Name: THE HEART EATER. By Ferdinand Schmalz
Start: 2026-04-22T22:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-04-22T23:30:00+02:00
Location: TamS Theater

An evening between mire, power, and human heart at TamS

With “THE HEART EATER”, the TamS Theater in Munich presents an evening on stage that merges crime grotesque, political satire, and linguistic precision into a dense theatrical experience. Ferdinand Schmalz tells of a world where the uncanny operates beneath the shiny surface: love, loneliness, greed, and the longing for stability.

A material that gets under the skin

The author intertwines a dark historical trace with contemporary satire and a uniquely poetic language. At the center is a small town that prefers to celebrate rather than question, while cracks are already forming in the swampy underground. That is exactly where the power of this piece lies: it dissects a society that can hardly separate consumption and crisis, desire and repression.

Ferdinand Schmalz and the art of linguistic condensation

Ferdinand Schmalz is one of the most prominent voices in contemporary drama. His plays have been staged multiple times at important venues and have been widely received in the theatrical landscape. the heart eater premiered at Schauspiel Leipzig and was later staged by the Deutsches Theater Berlin and the Vienna Burgtheater, among others. The dramaturgical quality of the text lies in the friction between black humor, societal analysis, and a language that combines rhythm and irony with cutting seriousness.

The TamS as an ideal resonance space

The TamS Theater in Schwabing possesses exactly the intimate theater atmosphere that this material needs. The historically rich venue is known for experimental, literary, and political theater; the small auditorium with over 70 seats enhances the closeness between stage and audience. This creates that tension that works particularly strongly in theater: every glance, every pause, every breath becomes part of the performance.

Direction, ensemble, and stage effect

Under the direction of Susi Weber, the evening unfolds with Irene Rovan, Lena Vogt, Helmut Dauner, Julian Mantaj, and Axel Röhrle. The production focuses on a performance that balances between grotesque and melancholy. Especially in a venue like TamS, whose history is shaped by idiosyncratic forms and precise ensemble work, the combination of theatrical art, linguistic music, and bitter wit can unfold particularly intensively.

Theater atmosphere with pull effect

Those who attend this evening will not experience a smooth feel-good theater but a thrilling stage experience with clever dramaturgy and a keen sense for audience reaction. The constellation of murder motive, love longing, and political satire ensures an evening that resonates. The piece does not remain within the crime motif but opens up the view on the fissures of our present.

Conclusion: “THE HEART EATER” promises an engaging theater evening at the TamS full of linguistic wit, darkness, and human abysses. Those seeking contemporary drama with profile, strong acting, and a dense live experience should not miss this performance.