ENGEL DER VERNICHTUNG
JONAS BERNETTA
Four actors are waiting on a film set for their next shoot to begin. They are supposed to be filming a remake of their major cinematic success, Ghosts. But the film crew simply fails to show up. After unsuccessful attempts to contact their management and take matters into their own hands, the actors realise that they can no longer leave the set. An invisible boundary seems to be trapping them there.
Thrown back on themselves, they are confronted with the imperfections of human existence: ageing, missed romances, envy, illness and mortality are brought sharply into focus. The four actors begin to wonder what, if anything, is still waiting for them outside. AI is in the process of conquering the world and appears unlikely to stop at the gates of Hollywood. Digital doubles, algorithmic rejuvenation and the revival of deceased film stars are set to transform the future of acting and storytelling.
Against the backdrop of this contemporary phenomenon, Engel der Vernichtung adapts the plot of Luis Buñuel’s surrealist film classic The Exterminating Angel (1962) for the stage. With Engel der Vernichtung, director Jonas Bernetta and his team explore the fear of losing meaning and subjectivity when everything that defines a human being can be replaced by AI. What, for example, is human acting still worth when digital doubles can portray every laugh more perfectly and every moment of suffering more convincingly than human performers? Accompanied throughout by a live camera, the theatre stage becomes a film set and the performance becomes a live film.
Cast Paul Behren, Vera Bommer, Jonathan Ferrari, Annina Hunziker
Concept, Direction, Text Jonas Bernetta
Dramaturgy, Text Kaija Knauer
Set Design Ivalina Yapova
Video Design Selina Pfeiffer
Live Camera Irem Güngez, Selina Pfeiffer
Composition Candid Rütter
Costume Design Luca Tarelli, Liv Senn
Choreography Paul Behren
Technical Direction Micha Bietenhader
Assistant Director Julie Cahannes
Production Management Ramun Bernetta – Bernetta Theaterproduktionen
Administration Adrian Fähndrich – Bernetta Theaterproduktionen
Production
Jonas Bernetta und Bernetta Theaterproduktionen
Coproduction
Theater Chur, Kurtheater Baden, Theater Casino Zug
Partnership
Luzerner Theater
Language German
Duration 90 Min without Pause
Premiere 25. April 2026, Theater Chur
Supported by
Stadt Chur, Kulturförderung Graubünden / SWISSLOS, Kanton Zug / SWISSLOS, Stadt Zug, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Graubündner Kantonalbank, Landis & Gyr Stiftung, Ueli Schlageter Stiftung
VIDEO
PRESS
«Engel der Vernichtung is an intelligently conceived and boldly realised production.»
«Here, meaning is not simply asserted, but developed before our very eyes – and ears – over 90 rapidly passing minutes.»
«This evening of theatre, which begins so innocently, leads us straight into profound territory.»
Carsten Michels, Bündner Zeitung, 02.05.2026
«The evening takes up a debate that concerns us all.»
«The production is entertaining, multi-layered in its content and carefully thought through.»
«The material is cleverly realised through the interweaving of film and theatre, which is fascinating to watch on stage.»
Radio SRF 2 Kultur
