Ben Becker

Description

The concert series MASTERWORKS presents cultural life in its full diversity at Berlin Cathedral – from grand classical music to literary-musical evenings and club culture. Amidst sacred architecture and unique acoustics, unforgettable evenings are created – impressive, moving, inspiring. Ben Becker "I, Judas"
Friday, March 19, 2027 and Saturday, March 20, 2027
Doors open: 7:30 PM, start: 8:00 PM Ben Becker has been thrilling audiences since 2015 with "I, Judas" in the most beautiful venues across the country. All previous performances were sold out. Originally planned as a one-time performance at Berlin Cathedral, the program was expanded into a nationwide, continuously ongoing tour due to overwhelming success. Over 30 additional events took place at Berlin Cathedral and Hamburg Michel alone. Now, Ben Becker returns with this extraordinary piece exactly where it all began: on the stage of the magnificent Berlin Cathedral. The sacred space provides the perfect backdrop for this profound drama and a highly emotional, unforgettable stage experience. Program info: Judas, his name stands for betrayal. His story is one of guilt without forgiveness. He is the only enemy for whom there is no love, the most hated, persecuted, and demonized: Judas, the disciple of Jesus, who betrays God's Son with his kiss and delivers him to the cross. Ben Becker takes on his role. The fall of Judas must be retold. A story has been handed down, a verdict has been made, a scapegoat branded for eternity. But the story is not accurate, the verdict is wrong. "What was to be betrayed," Judas asks in his defense speech, "Jesus' whereabouts? Thousands knew that. His great secret, that he is God's Son? He said so himself, in front of everyone!" And this is just the beginning of many inconsistencies in a story that has been believed more than questioned. The image of Judas, the traitor, is a prejudice with the most fatal consequences: anti-Semitism, persecution of Jews, religious wars. Ben Becker raises his voice for one who was chosen to play the anti-Christ to make Jesus the Messiah. "Judas is nothing without Jesus... But Jesus is also nothing without Judas," so the radical insight of Walter Jens, who in his Judas monologue shakes the moral certainties of centuries of piety. A gigantic task for an actor: here stands someone against all in a desperate fight for late justice. "I, Judas" is the existential plea for a condemned man, the correction of the greatest miscarriage of justice in the history of faith, and the revocation of a misconception that has divided the world. Ben Becker, with his interpretation of Judas, seeks not only resistance against stereotypes, prejudices, and false certainties. He plays Judas exactly where questions of faith and doubt, salvation and damnation find their place, in God's house. The music and sacred power of the organ, played by cathedral organist Andreas Sieling, make Ben Becker's Judas defense an event. Text: Amos Oz: Judas, Chapter 47 (Suhrkamp Verlag) and Walter Jens: The Defense Speech of Judas Iscariot (Radius-Verlag) Direction and staging: Ben Becker Music: Cathedral Organist Andreas Sieling Dramaturgy: John von Düffel (German Theater, Berlin) A co-production of Ben Becker & MSK Meistersinger

Highlights

• Ben Becker presents "I, Judas"
• Performances on March 19 and 20, 2027
• Doors open at 7:30 PM, starts at 8:00 PM

General Information

The concert series MASTERWORKS at Berlin Cathedral offers a diverse cultural program. Ben Becker returns with his piece "I, Judas," which was expanded into a nationwide tour due to its great success.

Location

Am Lustgarten, 10178 Berlin, Germany

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