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Always Coming Home

based on the novel by Ursula K. Le Guin

World premiere
World premiere
Theatre
Zwinger 1
Translated from American English by Matthias Fersterer, Karen Nölle and Helmut W. Pesch
[recommended for ages 16 and up]

Published in 1985 under the title »Always coming home«, science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin creates her own world set in an undefined future in California. The Kesh are the survivors of a disaster and while they have modern technology, they only use it insofar as it serves their modest lifestyle. Set up as an anthropological project of a futuristic archaeology, »Always coming home« is a unique collection of lost items: Poem and drama, myth and song interwoven to form a convincing vision.

For the collective F. Wiesel, it’s their third performance at Theater und Orchester Heidelberg after »Restworld« and »Die gleißende Welt« (The blazing world). Their works are shaped by influences from object theatre in combination with digital storytelling strategies and intersectional perspectives on science-fiction.


Content notes

based on the novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
[recommended for ages 16 and up]

based on the novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
[recommended for ages 16 and up]

Following the performance on 17 January 2026, Prof. Dr. Guido Sprenger from the Institute of Ethnology at Universität Heidelberg discusses Ursula K. Le Guin's archaeology of the future with the ensemble.

based on the novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
[recommended for ages 16 and up]
followed by a discussion with the audience

based on the novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
[recommended for ages 16 and up]

based on the novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
[recommended for ages 16 and up]

based on the novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
[recommended for ages 16 and up]

based on the novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
[recommended for ages 16 and up]

based on the novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
[recommended for ages 16 and up]

based on the novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
[recommended for ages 16 and up]

based on the novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
[recommended for ages 16 and up]
Costume Design
Composition, Live Music
Dramaturgy
Music Theatre Education
Live music
Assistant Director
Helen Metzger
Soufflage
Sara Eichhorn
Assistant Costumes
Lena Eibl

The production of the decorative parts is carried out in the workshops of the Theater und Orchester Heidelberg.

A complete list of all employees of the technical departments involved can be found here.

Listen to an introduction by Maria Schneider (in German) here.

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Trailer by Siegersbuschfilm

»So herausfordernd die Lektüre« des »monumentalen Epos« von Ursula K. Le Guin sei, so fordere auch F. Wiesels Inszenierung »den Forschergeist der Zuschauenden, aus den eindringlich und spannend präsentierten Mosaiksteinen ein komplettes Bild zusammenzusetzen«, schreibt Ute Maag im Mannheimer Morgen (8. Dezember 2025). Wie die Autorin präsentiere das Ensemble als »Erzähler, Berichterstatter oder Dokumentatoren« dem Publikum »fragmentarisch angeordnete[n] Sammelstücke«, von Jacob Bussmann unterlegt mit »einem sphärischen Live-Soundtrack und betörend schönen Gesängen«.