Beginning with a deck of cards, revealing destinies, desires, traumas, and hopes.

Four elemental forces ╳ a five-hour epic journey
A major international collaboration between a visionary theater master and one of Europe’s leading theater ensembles.

“Lepage works his magic. Scenic transformations happen as if by an invisible hand, with somnambulistic ease. “–Tagesspiegel

“You are bewitched by these players and enchanted by the beauty of change.” –Nachtkritik

“Part of the sensation is, that the piece lasts five hours without a minute passing.” –Berliner Morgenpost

Faith, Money, War and Love, co-created by Robert Lepage and the resident ensemble of Schaubühne Berlin, begins with the four suits of a deck of cards—♥️hearts, ♣️clubs, ♠️spades, and ♦️diamonds. Through extended improvisations by the performers, the work unfolds into four interwoven narratives exploring love, faith, war, and money.

Shortly after the end of World War II, an orphan raised in a German monastery travels to Paris as an adult and gives birth to twins, only to be told by a fortune teller, through a tarot reading, that tragedy awaits her, and that she should give the children away. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, a West German couple embark on a Valentine’s holiday, where the wife becomes consumed by gambling and loses the family fortune. A soldier returning from Afghanistan struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder, recounting to his therapist the loss of his comrades in war. Meanwhile, a gay couple turn to a Ukrainian surrogate in the hope of fulfilling their dream of becoming parents.

Structured in four acts and spanning nearly five hours, the performance weaves together intersecting storylines that traverse almost a century of German history. The stage is ingeniously built around four revolving screens; at the beginning of each act, a new suit is revealed like the turning of a card, as the screens transform seamlessly into airports, canvases, hotel rooms, casinos, and more. With fluid and meticulously choreographed visual transitions, the production bears the unmistakable signature of Lepage, the “stage magician,” delivering an epic theatrical experience.

Robert Lepage

Hailed as the “modern-day Da Vinci” and “the stage magician,” Robert Lepage is a native of Quebec, Canada. He is a playwright, actor, and director, recognized as one of the most influential contemporary multidisciplinary theater artists. His work spans theater, film, opera, and concerts, where he masterfully uses stagecraft to tell stories while integrating innovative technology and multimedia to create highly original, modern productions. Lepage has received numerous accolades, including the International Society for the Performing Arts’ Distinguished Artist Award, Canada’s Companion of the Order of Canada, and the European Commission’s Europe Theatre Prize. In his first collaboration with Schaubühne Berlin, he created and directed a brand-new work, "Faith, Money, War and Love".

Schaubühne Berlin

Founded in 1962, Schaubühne Berlin has been under the artistic direction of Thomas Ostermeier since 1999. Under his leadership, the theatre presents at least ten new productions each season alongside a repertoire of around thirty revivals. Guided by the concept of a “Collective Creation Theatre,” it brings together directors with diverse artistic approaches while exploring contemporary and experimental theatrical languages. Whether staging classical or contemporary works, Schaubühne Berlin places a strong emphasis on narrative form and rigorous textual analysis. In 2024, Schaubühne Berlin appeared at the National Taichung Theater with Thomas Ostermeier’s direction production of An Enemy of the People, which was met with enthusiastic acclaim from audiences for its striking contemporary perspective and powerful stagecraft.
 

Director/ Robert Lepage
Stage Design/ Robert Lepage, Ulla Willis
Costume Design/ Vanessa Sampaio Borgmann
Video/ Félix Fradet-Faguy
Sound/ Stefan Pinkernell
Dramaturgy/ Nils Haarmann
Lighting Design/ Erich Schneider
With: Damir Avdić, Stephanie Eidt, Christoph Gawenda, Magdalena Lermer, Bastian Reiber, Stefan Stern, Alina Vimbai Strähler