News
Save the Date: "FROM THE BEGINNING“
SYMPOSIUM ON AESTHETIC EDUCATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
In October, the HELIOS Theatre is hosting a symposium and a small international theatre festival on early childhood aesthetic education, inviting participants to explore young children's access to art through specialist lectures and theatre performances.
The symposium will take place on Friday, 16 October and Saturday, 17 October 2026 at the HELIOS Theatre in Hamm.
We accept your symposium registration and ticket reservations at post@helios-theater.de or 02381 926837.
You can find our complete programm here: PROGRAMM - and further information here.
Guest performers on our stage
Plays from Poland and France
Hamm is turning 800 – and as a birthday present, we’ve invited two productions from Poland and France to our stage:
Ears of the Soul is a concert by Teatr Atofri from Poznań, Poland. Here, water drips into a bowl, glasses clink, strings strum: familiar instruments are joined by ordinary everyday objects. Anyone aged three and over can look forward to an exciting first encounter with live music – but of course it’s also a show for everyone for whom this isn’t their first concert.
Book your tickets now for the performances on:
Friday 16 October at 10.00 am
Saturday 17 October at 11.00 am
Agâr is a play by the Cie. Melampo theatre company from Dijon, France. Today, we really only know wheat from flour, dough and bread – here we get to know it as a plant, as pure life, as an ear of wheat that has accompanied us at every stage of human history. Anyone who wishes to can get involved in the play themselves, planting wheat on stage and rediscovering a piece of nature.
Book your tickets now for the performances on:
Saturday 17 October at 4 pm
Sunday 18 October at 4 pm
Or Monday 19 October at 10 am
We look forward to seeing you there!
On Tour in South Africa
"Talking about silence"
We’re off to South Africa! In 2023, we developed the play “Talking about silence” in collaboration with the Ishyo Arts Centre in Rwanda:
Six actors and actresses explore the power of silence, oppressive taboos and the courage to speak out despite them.
We’ll now be performing the play three times in September at the famous Market Theatre in Johannesburg:
1 September – 7.30 pm -- 2 September – 2.30 pm -- 3 September – 4.30 pm
You can find more information about the play here.
Want to know more? Click here to watch the documentary about how the play came about.
Body Images
New play for everyone 14+
Our new season kicks off with another premiere: Body Images!
From this fall, you’ll be able to see our new play, suitable for everyone aged 14 and over, for which rehearsals are already underway:
Director Barbara Kölling is working with four actresses on the theme of body images – what does it mean to have a body shaped by expectations and the pressure to constantly improve oneself?
Premiere: Friday 2 October at 7 pm
Further information is available here.
New play for the very youngest
"Paper work"
For everyone aged 2 and above
It is folded, rubbed, torn, it envelops and conceals, it becomes a canvas and its own entity, telling us its stories: paper. It can be strong or permeable, heavy or light, stable or fragile: a nothingness that rises at the slightest breath of wind and sails away—how beautifully it flies. And how wonderful it would be to glide through the air almost weightlessly like that... a play with the medium of paper and its relationship to the human body.
The premiere took place on March 8, 2026
Further information is available here.
"APPLAUSE!"
Next round of the school theater festival
From 23–25 June, eight schools took to our stage with seven different plays: it was time for the School Theatre Festival once again!
For the eleventh time, the pupils were able to present their own original plays or theatre classics here and perform them in front of a large audience – over the three days of the festival, more than 100 pupils performed for over 500 spectators. Another highlight, of course, was the post-performance discussions, during which the audience and performers were able to share their mutual enjoyment of theatre. We are already looking forward to the next School Theatre Festival in 2028 and would like to thank everyone who took part once again.
You can find out more about “APPLAUSE!” here.
"you and i" chosen for Spielarten festival
play for the very youngest
Our play “you and i”, suitable for everyone aged 2 and over, has been selected for the Spielarten Festival!
Spielarten is a festival for young audiences held across North Rhine-Westphalia, taking place in various cities. Every year, ten plays from the independent theatre scene are selected – this year, we are delighted to be able to perform “du und ich” in September and November in three different cities: Münster, Pulheim and Duisburg.
New EU-project has started
The Right Time
14 partners, 13 countries, 4 years: We are delighted to have been part of a new EU project since January!
As part of ‘The Right Time’, we are working with our partners to explore the dimension of time within the performing arts for children aged 0-6. This involves creating new plays, staging festivals and promoting interdisciplinary research. As part of the project, we are working closely with groups of children to find out how children perceive time, what role time plays on stage and what happens when children spend time together in a theatre.
You can find more information at here.
Youth Theatre Club's "Institute for Time"
The time was right for our Youth Theatre Workshop! During the Culture Night on 8 May and the following day, 9 May, our JTW performed their play “The Institute for Time”, which they had been working on since November.
As part of our ‘Kulturrucksack’ project, the 10–14-year-olds explored the concept of time – how it passes, what boredom actually is, and how time slips away.
And: it’s not over yet! Our weekly rehearsals for the new Youth Theatre Workshop start on 15 September – sign up now via our theatre office!
Further information is available here.
Theatre Group for everyone 15-20
On 12 June, the improv workshop for 15–20-year-olds had the chance to show what they’d learnt since January: the audience had to shout out genres, locations and favourite drinks, and the young people on stage had to come up with and act out scenes based on these. Whether thrilling, funny or romantic – nothing was planned that evening and anything was possible.
So this theatre group is already drawing to a close. But the next group is already on the horizon: the new group for everyone aged 15–20 starts on 30 September. You can sign up now via our theatre office!
You can find more info here.
"BALANCE"
– a practical philosophical theater experiment –
for everyone aged 8 and up.
In nature, in everyday life, in big things and small: balance is important. Between caution and daring, speaking and listening, acting and waiting – but when it comes to competition, our sense of balance changes: no one wants winning and losing to be evenly balanced anymore. It's all about always being the best. What could a group of people achieve together? Where are we stronger together than alone? And what can we learn from bees? On stage and in the audience, answers are sought, arguments weighed up, and lots of experimentation takes place.
Further information about the play can be found here.
There is good news!
Fund to help pay for theatre tickets
The friend's association of HELIOS establishes a fund to help daycare centers 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!
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
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.
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!