What if a committed fascist were to become an anti-fascist? Is such a radical political transformation even possible – and what remains of a person when they fundamentally change their beliefs?

“San Paolo – The Martyrdom of Pasolini” takes these questions as the starting point for an international theatre production by David Stöhr and Dirk Brauner. The production is based on Pier Paolo Pasolini’s unfinished San Paolo project, in which the gay Italian writer and filmmaker (1922–1975) transposed the biblical story of Saul and Paul into his own contemporary world. The persecutor becomes a preacher: Pasolini imagines a radical political and personal transformation – from fascist to anti-fascist.

The production carries this idea into the present day. Against the backdrop of the resurgence of far-right extremism, it explores whether, and under what conditions, it is possible to turn away from an extremist ideology. This is not a story of a redeemed hero. Instead, the focus is on the contradictions inherent in such a transformation: What happens to guilt, convictions and one’s own political actions? And how can those who were persecuted and those who later abandon their ideology encounter one another?

As the announcement puts it: “Berlin is more than just the venue. The city is shaped by the history of National Socialism, by resistance and division – and at the same time by a present defined by international diversity and social conflict.”

With German and English surtitles.

Free entry

More information here.