When does Tannöd - A Criminal Case take place in Bayreuth?

The performance takes place on Saturday, December 5, 2026, at 8:00 PM.

Where will Tannöd be performed?

The performance will take place at the main stage of the Studiobühne Bayreuth at Röntgenstraße 2, 95447 Bayreuth.

How long does the performance last?

The performance lasts about two hours including a break.

Who wrote the original material for the play?

The original material is by Andrea Maria Schenkel. The stage adaptation was created by Maya Fanke and Doris Happl.

How can tickets be purchased?

Tickets are available online, at the Bayreuth box office, and from one hour before the performance at the evening box office.

Tannöd in Bayreuth: A dark stage crime about guilt, silence, and human abysses

Name: Tannöd - A Criminal Case
Start: 2026-12-05T20:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-12-05T22:00:00+01:00
Location: Studiobühne Bayreuth, Hauptbühne

Tannöd in Bayreuth: A village stays silent, the stage speaks

On December 5, 2026, a scene of horror opens at the Studiobühne Bayreuth. Tannöd - A Criminal Case brings Andrea Maria Schenkel's bestselling novel to the main stage as an intense drama. The stage adaptation by Maya Fanke and Doris Happl transforms a mysterious multiple murder into a gripping theatrical experience about guilt, violence, and the silence of a community.

One night, six dead, and no certainty

At the remote Tannöd farm, the Danner family and their new maid are found murdered. The farmer, his wife, the daughter with her two children, and the maid lie dead in hay, bed, and chamber. The perpetrator remains unknown, as does the motive. Was the act divine punishment, a planned robbery, or late revenge?

The dramaturgy does not follow a linear investigator story. In flashbacks and inner monologues, the events piece together like a mosaic. Each voice expands the picture, while simultaneously shifting the perspective. The audience becomes an observer of a village where rumors know more than the official truth.

Psychological drama instead of mere crime case

The production delves deep into a rural world, whose apparent order is interwoven with fear and repressed violence. Behind piety and neighborliness lie power, dependency, and old wounds. The family patriarch Danner rules with an iron fist; rumors of abuse and incest cast a shadow over the community.

Therein lies the theatrical power of the stage adaptation: Tannöd not only asks who committed the murder. The play examines how a community copes with guilt, how silence arises, and when gossip turns into insight. Acting, directing, and dramaturgy meet in a dark chamber play that gains its tension from the voids.

A narrative with literary and theatrical historical weight

Andrea Maria Schenkel's debut novel, published in 2006, draws on the still-mysterious Hinterkaifeck murder case as a historical point of reference. The adaptation by Maya Fanke and Doris Happl was developed for the stage in 2008 and is among the prominent German-language crime stories in contemporary theater. The original work was awarded significant crime literature prizes and received broad attention on stage as well.

The Bayreuth performance promises a concentrated stage experience with an intense theatrical atmosphere. Dark rooms, voices from memory, and the gradual unfolding of a traumatic relational web turn the rural idyll upside down. Every sentence carries a trace; every glance can conceal a confession.

Conclusion: An evening full of tension and human abysses

Tannöd - A Criminal Case awaits the audience as a two-hour theatrical evening with a break, dense atmosphere, and psychological aftermath. Those who appreciate crime theater, demanding dramaturgy, and stories about the dark sides of human communities will experience in Bayreuth a narrative that does not settle for a simple resolution. Secure your tickets and experience this gripping criminal case live on stage.