News
The season has begun!
Kicking off with "BALANCE"
— a practical philosophical theater experiment —
for everyone aged 8 and up.
How much weight do words and deeds carry? Are rivalry and competition good for the world?
Does happiness lie in balance?
Arguments are weighed up. Equilibrium is sought.
Balance is essential — both internally and externally. But balance does not mean standing still.
youth theatre club
the youth theatre club starts again
Rehearsals for the new project for children and young people aged 10-14 will begin in November.
This year's theme is ‘time’. An ‘Institute for Time’ will be founded, research will be conducted, questions will be asked, theatre will be performed and, finally, a performance will be staged.
Further information is available here.
"APPLAUSE!"
Next round of the school theater festival
From June 24 to 26, theater-loving groups from secondary schools will present their plays to a wide audience on a professional stage. Whether theater classics or original texts, short or long scenes—everything is welcome here, from literature courses to theater clubs to performing arts courses.
Schools that have been involved since the beginning are welcome, as are those who want to take to our stage for the first time:
The festival team invites all interested teachers to an information meeting on November 17, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. at the HELIOS Theater – please register by emailing post@helios-theater.de or calling 02381 926837.
You can find out more about “APPLAUSE!” here.
hellwach 2025
11th international theater festival for young audiences
“hellwach”, the 11th international theater festival for young audiences in NRW, took place from 17 - 25 May 2025. Over eight festival days, theater ensembles from numerous countries in Europe, Africa and Central America presented impressive productions for audiences of all ages. This year, theaters from Germany, Belgium, France, Egypt, Ukraine, Mexico, Rwanda and Senegal took part in Hamm and the two cooperating cities of Bergkamen and Lünen.
Further information about hellwach is available here
you and I
a performance for people aged 2 and over
Two performers on stage who invent things together, learn from each other, argue with each other, and reconcile again—and discover how quickly a normal object can be transformed into something alive when they shape a lump of clay into a face. Two performers quickly become three, then four, and then many more—until the audience itself is allowed to shape, build, and explore.
The premiere took place on Sunday, March 30, 2025, at 4 p.m.
Further information about the play and current performance dates can be found here, as well as an interview with the two performers about what makes theater for the very young so special.
Talking About Silence
A co-production with the Ishyo Arts Center, Kigali / Rwanda
"Talking About Silence" the co-production of the HELIOS Theater with the Ishyo Art Center from Rwanda/Kigali is nominated for AUGENBLICK MAL! 2025
Every two years, the Children's and Youth Theater Center Germany invites for to the most important theater festival for young audiences, AUGENBLICK MAL! in Berlin for 10 days.
A selection jury chooses the 10 most remarkable works from two years. A total of 233 productions for young audiences were nominated for the AUGENBLICK MAL! festival. We are very pleased that “Talking about silence” will be shown in Berlin from May 6-11, 2025.
Film documentation – Talking About Silence
“Talking about silence” , a co-production between the HELIOS Theater from Germany/Hamm and the Ishyo Art Center from Rwanda/Kigali, is already the second joint work. In 2016, “our house” was created, with this production the German-Rwandan ensemble traveled to South Africa for the ASSITEJ International World Congress 2017 and managed to come together again and again for performances and tours over 2 years.
In 2023, work began on a new production, this time about “silence” - in families, in neighborhoods, in society. In both countries, Rwanda and Germany, the topic is of great importance due to their specific pasts. Talking about it seemed essential to everyone involved.
A film documentary has now been made about the project, in which the participants talk about the working process and excerpts from the production can be seen, as well as snapshots with the audience in Rwanda.
The documentary can be found here for all interested.
Enjoy!
More information about the entire play can be found here.
Cooperations - schools
New cooperation with the Märkisches Gymnasium Hamm
Shortly before the summer vacation, we are pleased to announce a new partnership: The HELIOS Theater will cooperate with the Märkisches Gymnasium Hamm in the future.
Click here to read more!
Arnold Freymuth Comprehensive School and HELIOS Theater
In January 2025, Mr. Schiffer and Ms. Paals-Gotthal from the Arnold Freymuth Comprehensive School signed a cooperation agreement with theater educator Christina Stöcker from the HELIOS Theater.
Click here to read more!
Cooperations
In 2024, we enabled the creation of theater productions outside the HELIOS repertoire with 2 artistic collaborations. Find out more about these collaborations “Zaki” by Isra el Ghazali from Egypt and “fitting in or not at all” by the MÜN collective here.
There is good news!
The friend's association of Helios establishes a fund to help KiTas and schools visiting the theatre
The use of public transport in Hamm has recently become free for everyone under 18. A real step towards greater mobility within the city. This removes a potential obstacle for school classes and daycare groups from more distant parts of the city to visit the theater. However, we know from conversations that sometimes the ticket price can also be an obstacle. For this reason, the Friends of the Theater have decided to cover the cost of tickets for groups who cannot afford to go to the theater. Please contact us if you need assistance.
The HELIOS THEATER would like to thank the Friends of the Theater for their ongoing commitment in the most important areas!
Valeria Frabetti Award 2023 for the Helios Theater!
A great honour, on the 26th October 2023 we received the „Premio Valeria Frabetti“ for our artistic work and engagement in theatre for the youngest!
Read the complete laudatory speech here.
International Exchange
MAPPING - A Big International Research Project!
Since 2006, HELIOS Theater has been an active partner in the EU-funded „small size“ projects. The projects were dedicated to the international exchange about and development of performing art for audiences aged 0 to 6.
In 2018, the European Union accepted a new project: 19 theatres and festivals from 17 different countries are part of "MAPPING". The focus is set on artistic exchange and scientific research about several theatrical means of expression in the theatre for the very young. We are thrilled to be a part of this project! You can find more information about "MAPPING" and our work for the very young here and on the project's website www.mapping-project.eu.
Intensive Exchange with Artists in India, Nigeria and South Africa
The special approach in the theatre for the very young that director Barbara Kölling and puppeteer Michael Lurse have developed since 2005 has received a lot of interest around the world. In 2015, Barbara Kölling started giving international mentoring workshops for professional artists about the theatre for the very young with materials.
Theatre makers from India, South Africa and Nigeria have initiated intensive mentoring programmes, such as Magnet Theatre (Cape Town) and Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust (India). From these programmes, about 20 theatre pieces for children aged 2+ have evolved. They are artistically dealing with materials like paper, clay, wool, stones, wood and plastic in a wide variety of ways. The performances are playing in their respective cities, are invited to festivals and tour internationally. For the HELIOS Theater, these workshops mean an intensive and fruitful exchange with theatre artists from India and African countries and their artistic approaches. You can read more about the mentoring projects here.
Publications
Book: "About the Work of HELIOS Theater"
To the 25th anniversary of the founding of HELIOS Theaters, a book on the history and work of the company was published in 2014. The book is a collection of thoughts by current and former members of the ensemble photos and interviews, thoughts on the concept, detailed examinations of the productions for the Very Young. Publisher is "Kunststiftung NRW", an important foundation for the arts in Northrhine Westfalia, which celebtrated its 25th anniversary in the same year. The book can be ordered in the theatre office of HELIOS Theater.
Film: „Woolgathering“
The short documentary follows the ensemble of HELIOS Theater in its research on the material wool. It develops its own, videographic view on the material. The focus is not on the making of the production, but rather on the relation between material, artists and audience. In the making of the production "Follow the Yarn" for everybody 2+, the HELIOS ensemble was accompanied by two young film makers of Ruhruniversität Bochum: Stoyan Radoslavov and Damian W. Gorczany.
You can order the film in the theatre office.
Awards
Theatre Award of the Federal Republic
In 2019, HELIOS Theater has received the Theatre Award of the Federal Republic of Germany. The jury installed by the federal cultural minister Monika Grütters pays tribute to eleven small and medium-sized theatres throughout Germany for outstanding activities, both in their artistic programme and in their local, regional and international cultural projects. We are very proud and happy about this important award!