Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black boy, was brutally murdered in 1955. His mother decided to have her disfigured son laid out in an open casket, sparking a turning point in the civil rights movement. His murderers were acquitted, but Emmett’s spirit lives on—and continues to accompany generations of Black families.
What happens to all those murdered by racist violence? In Toni Morrison’s play Dreaming Emmett, we encounter a person who returns to reimagine his story. Someone who does not yet know what he needs to find peace. Understanding? Justice? Or perhaps revenge?
Toni Morrison once said, “A dream is just a nightmare with lipstick.” Dreaming Emmett is both. A dream and a nightmare. It all depends on whose perspective you’re looking from.
(Third-Year Project 2025)
SARAH ELISABETH BRAUN Born in 1997 in Filderstadt, she studies theater directing at the HfS Ernst Busch and is a scholarship recipient of the German National Academic Foundation. Her work focuses on making migrant, anti-fascist, and Black perspectives visible and empowering them.
Text based on Toni Morrison
Dramaturgy Helen Waeder, Noémi Ola Berkowitz
Costumes and Set Design Leo Lesego Brunner
Assistant Director Rosie Marie
Mentors Lamin Leroy Gibba, Friederike Heller
With Langston Uibel, Samia Dauenhauer, Lara Sophie Milagro, Serge Mateso, Julia Zupan, Carl Geißler
- Regie
