Jean-Paul Sartre, the most influential Western philosopher of the 20th century and the master of French existentialism. In his play "No Exit," he wrote the classic line: "Hell is other people."

From June 8 to June 9, the German play "No Exit," adapted from Sartre's eponymous classic masterpiece, will make its Asian premiere and sole appearance in China at the YOUNG Theater in our district! Tickets are now available. Witness how the Vienna Burgtheater, a prestigious European theater, reconstructs this classic representative work and recreates the German-Austrian version of "Hell is other people."

What happens when three strangers are "confined" together?

Inès, Estelle, and Garcin can only guess why they have come to this hellish place: an indoor room with no windows or mirrors. Towering walls, only occasionally visited by a peculiar servant. What about the outside? It doesn't exist here. Even their eyelids are weary because this place forces them to remain constantly awake, without even the "black flash" of blinking.

Why are these three strangers gathered here? What sins have brought them to this place? Are they already holding the instruments of execution for others without realizing it?

"No Exit" premiered in February 2022 and was invited to participate in the renowned Bregenz Festival in Austria later that year, receiving countless enthusiastic feedback and praise. The "Süddeutsche Zeitung" stated bluntly: "'No Exit' is Martin Kušej's best work as director of the Burgtheater." The "Frankfurter Rundschau" described the atmosphere on-site as having "a certain 'hellish' quality."

Existentialist Master Meets Burgtheater Director: When "Top-Tier" Encounters "Top-Tier"

Jean-Paul Sartre, one of the most important French philosophers of the 20th century and one of the most active advocates of Western socialism, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964 but refused to accept it.

Professor Wu Qiong from the Department of Philosophy at Renmin University of China referred to Sartre as "a sacred icon of Chinese culture in the early 1980s." The name is not unfamiliar to domestic audiences. A magnificent wave of "Sartre fever" once influenced a generation of literary creators, including Shi Tiesheng, Can Xue, and Qian Zhongshu.

"No Exit," Sartre's classic philosophical play, premiered in Paris in 1944. The work depicts three souls in torment, hiding from each other while cross-examining one another, endlessly trapped in a futile pursuit. Behind the absurd plot lies the core of Sartre's "philosophy of freedom," exploring issues such as "how the gaze of others defines us against our will," presenting a rich and layered inquiry.

This reconstruction of Sartre's classic is brought to us by the Vienna Burgtheater. As the second oldest theater in Europe after the Comédie-Française and one of the most important theaters in the German-speaking world, the Vienna Burgtheater is hailed as "the richest and largest repertory theater in the world" and has always been a pilgrimage site for theater enthusiasts. It is also the theater with the largest audience on the European continent. Last year, the theater's "The Magic Mountain" was invited to close the 10th Wuzhen Theater Festival, receiving rave reviews.

This performance of "No Exit" at the YOUNG Theater marks the troupe's first visit to Shanghai. The director is Martin Kušej, the artistic director of the Vienna Burgtheater. He has served as the director of the Salzburg Festival and the Munich Residenz Theater and was listed by Germany's "Focus" magazine as one of the "ten individuals who have had a significant impact on German-language theater since the millennium."

In "No Exit," Martin Kušej employs his highly aggressive style to seek new aesthetic directions for theatrical art outside the mainstream path, interpreting the multiple possibilities of modern theater with a multicultural and multilingual background. This will be a multidimensional, in-depth collision between the performance of the German-Austrian stage and the soul of French text.

"A Cast of Villains"! Realistic Set Design Creates a Modern Hellscape

"Hell is other people," arguably one of Sartre's most well-known "golden quotes," originated from his play "No Exit," which showcases the inevitable struggle and definition between the subject and the object in a communal society.

In terms of stage set design, the Vienna Burgtheater will recreate the complete scenic construction at the YOUNG Theater: realistically built gray high walls, thought-provoking white art sculptures, empty self-service trays, and perpetually bright extreme white light... The theater will become a modern "hellscape" open to the audience. In this intensely sensory audiovisual space, the audience will become part of it, immersed in the "destroyed eternity."

It is worth mentioning that they have chosen a surprising approach this time - "a cast of villains" - to reconstruct this "dilemma of freedom" drama about confinement, isolation, and deprivation. While witnessing the three characters torturing, judging, and relying on each other simultaneously, their detached yet inflated gazes are also scrutinizing every "me" sitting below.

Moreover, in June this year, the Vienna Burgtheater's "No Exit," the Berlin Ensemble's "The Ghost of Brecht," and the Brazilian Warehouse Theater's "Neva River" will be performed successively at the YOUNG Theater, inviting theater enthusiasts to join the midsummer carnival. For ticket purchases, please visit the YOUNG Theater's official WeChat Official Account.

"No Exit"

Performance Times

June 8, 2024 (Saturday) 19:30

June 9, 2024 (Sunday) 14:00

Performance Venue

YOUNG Theater Main Stage

Performance Duration

110 minutes (no intermission)

Performance Language

German performance with Chinese and English subtitles

Recommended Age

14+

Ticket Prices

RMB 180/280/380/580/680

(Student tickets RMB 120)