When will the performance of Blood Book take place?

The performance begins on November 12, 2026, at 7:00 PM.

Where will Blood Book be performed?

The event will take place at D’haus Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus at Gustaf-Gründgens-Platz 1 in 40211 Düsseldorf.

What is Blood Book about?

Blood Book tells about origins, family history, body, sexuality, and the search of a non-binary narrative figure for their own identity.

Who wrote the source material for Blood Book?

The source material is by Kim de l’Horizon, whose novel was awarded the German Book Prize and the Swiss Book Prize in 2022.

How long does the performance last?

For this Düsseldorf performance, a duration of about two hours is planned.

Is Blood Book suitable for children?

The production deals with explicit themes surrounding body, sexuality, violence, and identity, and is primarily aimed at an adult audience.

Experience Blood Book live: A poetic journey through origins, body, and identity

Name: Blood Book
Start: 2026-11-12T19:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-11-12T21:00:00+01:00
Location: D’haus Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus

Blood Book at the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus: A poetic journey through origins and identity

Kim de l’Horizon’s award-winning novel Blood Book leads into a family history that flows like an underground stream through bodies, memories, and generations. On November 12, 2026, the stage adaptation will guest at D’haus Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus, transforming the search for one’s self into a compelling theatrical experience.

A family story as a linguistic pull

At the center is a non-binary narrative figure who grapples with their own physicality, sexuality, and origins. The relationship with the grandmother, the mother, and the female ancestral line opens a space of memories where personal biography and societal influence remain inextricably linked. The love of the oceans becomes a poetic image of an origin from which no person fully escapes.

Between poetry, body, and upheaval

Blood Book derives its power from a language that fluctuates between tenderness, brutality, Bernese German, literary reflection, and breathless party sound. The dramaturgy does not follow a straightforward family chronicle. It works with breaks, repetitions, and linguistic overlays until the past and present slide into each other like two stage sets.

The blood beech forms a strong center of imagination: tree, safe space, and symbol of a family history with roots reaching far back. In different productions, this material has been combined with drag elements, lip-syncing, multiperspective play, and a deliberately open stage aesthetic. Thus, theater emerges that not only tells but visibly shifts the boundaries of body, role, and identity.

A novel that touches contemporary theater history

Kim de l’Horizon received the German Book Prize and the Swiss Book Prize 2022 for Blood Book. The stage adaptations of the novel have been noted for their poetic, powerful, and simultaneously playful engagement with queer identity, family memory, and societal norms. Reviews described the material as shocking, witty, poetic, and explicitly raw.

Theater atmosphere at D’haus

At the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus, this linguistically powerful source meets the concentrated acoustics and the immediate gaze of theater. An interpretation is expected in which acting, stage design, and lighting mood give space to the inner search movements of the narrative figure. The audience will experience an evening that balances literary accuracy, physical presence, and emotional unrest.

Conclusion: An evening for open questions

Blood Book promises not a comfortable family portrait, but a theater experience about origins, desire, memory, and the freedom to retell oneself. Those who want to experience contemporary stage art, strong language, and queer perspectives will find an evening with a lasting audience reaction at the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus. Mark your calendars and experience Blood Book live.