Black Box 
, Münster, start 7:30 pm, tickets
alfabet – the paradise darkness is white
An iconic text in a new light
Photo: Eckard Ischebeck
The internationally acclaimed long poem alfabet (1981) by Danish poet Inger Christensen is the starting point for kolberg+stern’s production, which premiered in 2026. A work of unsettling relevance, alfabet raises profound existential questions: How do we bear the simultaneous presence of beauty and destruction? Can the power of empathy and imagination offer new hope?
The duo translates the poem’s underlying principles — the Fibonacci sequence and the alphabet — into increasingly dense layers of words, sounds and images. The color white runs throughout the text, taking tangible form in the paper on stage and in the performers’ clothing. White becomes a canvas for life and death, fragility and renewal.
The result is an immersive collage that opens up unexpected perspectives on Christensen’s work, brings its poetic force into the present, and, against all odds, celebrates the beauty of life.
The world premiere took place at the Orangerie in the Botanical Garden in 2026. The premiere was realised in collaboration with Francesco Matecjek (dance) and supported by the City of Münster’s Cultural Affairs Office.