Ellen B.

About This Event

Marius von Mayenburg's psychological thriller gets its English-language premiere here, directed by Whitney White and translated by Daniel Brunet — a genuinely rare first crack at a script most Chicago audiences would otherwise never get to see in English.

The play's full title is 'Ellen Babić,' the last of a trilogy (with 'Ex' and 'Egal') from a playwright who's been the house dramaturg and writer-in-residence at Berlin's Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz since 1999 — one of the most influential stages in German theater. The story centers on Astrid, a teacher, and Klara, her much younger live-in companion who was once her student, unpacking the shifting power and dependency between them as old certainties come apart. It premiered in German at the Berliner Ensemble in 2024 before going on to Vienna's Burgtheater; this Steppenwolf run is its first time fully in English.

Worth knowing: this runs Apr 1 – May 9, 2027 in the Ensemble Theatre. No single showtime to add to a calendar since performances vary; check steppenwolf.org for the schedule and ticket prices.