When Christopher-Felix Hahn’s grandmother moves into a retirement home, she leaves him a vase—allegedly an object found in the forest, lost by refugees in 1945. But inquiries reveal a different story: the vase came from the home of her Jewish neighbour Curt Courant, one of the best-known cinematographers of the Weimar Republic, who had to flee into exile from the National Socialists.
The performance traces the history of this object, linking the artist’s own family history with Courant’s biography. From Brandenburg via Berlin to Hollywood, the production follows the vase’s journey and raises questions about restitution, responsibility and how to deal with a “tainted” legacy.
Concept, artistic direction, performance: Christopher-Felix Hahn; Dramaturgy: Alexander Kirchner; Video: Adrian Terzić; Sound: Daria Redkina; Ceramic production: Liesa Fritzsche; Stage design: Thilo Ullrich; Technical direction: Bart Huybrechts
Many thanks to: Pancho Kohner and Heide Rezepa-Zabel
The premiere took place on 4 September 2025 at Vierte Welt. The revival at the Exilmuseum is being presented as part of the exhibition VON HIER AUS.
The production was supported by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion, the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg District Office and the Ursula Lachnit-Fixson Foundation. The revival is supported by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion as part of the revival funding programme.
Christopher-Felix Hahn is a freelance theatre-maker, arts educator and performer. He studied art history at Freie Universität Berlin and Applied Theatre Studies in Gießen. Since winning the Jury Prize at the 100° Festival Berlin in 2011, he has worked in various constellations with artists such as Tino Sehgal, Nico and the Navigators, and Showcase Beat Le Mot. In his own work, he explores forms of remembrance culture.
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