Helene Hegemann & Bonaparte - CARTE BLANCHE // Premiere & Einzige Aufführung auf dem Harbour Front Literaturfestival

In the organizer's words:

"Trying to eliminate the separation between concert and literature and celebrate the interfaces, radically and without inhibition..."

Unexpected encounters with wonderfully far-reaching consequences - this unplannable, incalculable moment is the secret and perhaps somewhat romantic wish that accompanies our work.

When the paths of Helene Hegemann and Bonaparte crossed in our presence later this spring, such a moment had arrived and was palpable for everyone.

The chance to experience how Helene Hegemann's thoughts and texts merge live on stage with Bonaparte's compositions, which are solitary in their unusual duality , suddenly became real in the room.

There was only one possibility: CARTE BLANCHE for this project!

We will experience together on 14.10.25 on the big stage of the Thalia Theater what exactly will be created in the laboratory that both artists have set up in the meantime.

Just this much in advance:

"Perhaps there isn't a single writer who wouldn't rather be a musician. And no musician who can't write. If the world is on the brink of collapse anyway, you could try, just for fun, to abolish the separation between concert and literature and celebrate the interfaces, radically and without inhibition, to think of this evening as something that takes place somewhere between sound check, punk concert and collective meditation. If you want to go where politics, journalism and school lessons can't, you have to tolerate contradictions and enjoy their fusion. And stop trying to get everything right. And concentrate on making what can at best be imagined as a fusion of music and literature consistently tangible. It has to be possible somehow without immediately putting a grand piano and a glass of water on stage again." (Helene Hegemann)

About the participants:

Helene Hegemann is a German writer, screenwriter and director. In 2007, her play "Ariel 15" with the subtitle "Die Grundlagen der Verlorenheit" premiered in Berlin. In 2008, she won the Max Ophüls Prize with her first film "Torpedo". In 2010, she made her debut as an author with the novel "Axolotl Roadkill", which has been translated into 20 languages. The film adaptation, which she directed herself, won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the 2017 Sundance Festival. In 2013, she published her second novel "Jage zwei Tiger", followed by "Bungalow" in 2018, for which she was nominated for the German Book Prize. In 2021, she wrote about Patti Smith and Christoph Schlingensief in the KiWi Music Library, her short story collection "Schlachtensee" was published in 2022 and her novel "Striker" in spring 2025. She directs for opera, theater and film.

Bonaparte is the stage name of Swiss songwriter and producer Tobias Jundt. Jundt brings together a large number of changing performers and musicians for live shows. Bonaparte has played over 700 concerts worldwide, including in Europe, New Zealand, the USA, China and Russia, and has released a number of acclaimed studio and live albums, remixes and soundtracks. His performances are legendary - between punk, electro and theater, with anarchic energy and a fine sense of staging.