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My play DOUBLE SERPENT is out May 1st from Ugly Duckling Presse. Available for Pre Order now from @uglyducklingpresse and @asterism_books .
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In a penthouse in Manhattan, Connor plays dead for his wealthy older boyfriend Felix. Elsewhere, in a dark, wet basement in 1999, he plays Double Serpent with his invisible friend while he waits for Fake Dad to be done with his business upstairs.
Using a brilliant triple-helix structure, Sam Max’s playscript threads fantasy together with Connor’s past and present, creating a thriller in which there are Fake Dads and real daddies, surgery and blood play, childhood scarring and adulthood dissociation. In Double Serpent, sex and intimacy both redeem and reinflict.

An interview between Sam Max and Derek McCormack @derek_mccormack accompanies the playscript.
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"Double Serpent is a disquieting fever dream from one of America’s freshest theatrical minds that will haunt you for days after you encounter it."
— Jordan Tannahill

“Wriggly, complicated, dense, beautiful, and so tight. I’ve read it so many times, and every time I get flashes of understanding, I reject them. I don’t want to understand it fully, I don’t want to understand what’s happening. I can’t get over how much Sam is doing.” —Derek McCormack

“Sam Max has written an exquisite and powerfully disturbing play in which growing up is no more an option than the incest taboo. Double Serpent takes the repetition compulsion to the nth power, in a slurred Escher maze where fantasy anticipates damage, or did I dream that, or did you say it first? A delicious shudder, for babies and former/future babies.” —Kay Gabriel

“Double Serpent vivisects the haunted covenant of survival within a life-liquidating economy of violence, and insists on the exacting need for connection that persists, even in the wake of the unbearable.” —Early Shinada

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Cover design by John Patrikas

My play DOUBLE SERPENT is out May 1st from Ugly Duckling Presse. Available for Pre Order now from @uglyducklingpresse and @asterism_books .
*
In a penthouse in Manhattan, Connor plays dead for his wealthy older boyfriend Felix. Elsewhere, in a dark, wet basement in 1999, he plays Double Serpent with his invisible friend while he waits for Fake Dad to be done with his business upstairs.
Using a brilliant triple-helix structure, Sam Max’s playscript threads fantasy together with Connor’s past and present, creating a thriller in which there are Fake Dads and real daddies, surgery and blood play, childhood scarring and adulthood dissociation. In Double Serpent, sex and intimacy both redeem and reinflict.

An interview between Sam Max and Derek McCormack @derek_mccormack accompanies the playscript.
*

"Double Serpent is a disquieting fever dream from one of America’s freshest theatrical minds that will haunt you for days after you encounter it."
— Jordan Tannahill

“Wriggly, complicated, dense, beautiful, and so tight. I’ve read it so many times, and every time I get flashes of understanding, I reject them. I don’t want to understand it fully, I don’t want to understand what’s happening. I can’t get over how much Sam is doing.” —Derek McCormack

“Sam Max has written an exquisite and powerfully disturbing play in which growing up is no more an option than the incest taboo. Double Serpent takes the repetition compulsion to the nth power, in a slurred Escher maze where fantasy anticipates damage, or did I dream that, or did you say it first? A delicious shudder, for babies and former/future babies.” —Kay Gabriel

“Double Serpent vivisects the haunted covenant of survival within a life-liquidating economy of violence, and insists on the exacting need for connection that persists, even in the wake of the unbearable.” —Early Shinada

*
Cover design by John Patrikas

My play DOUBLE SERPENT is out May 1st from Ugly Duckling Presse. Available for Pre Order now from @uglyducklingpresse and @asterism_books .
*
In a penthouse in Manhattan, Connor plays dead for his wealthy older boyfriend Felix. Elsewhere, in a dark, wet basement in 1999, he plays Double Serpent with his invisible friend while he waits for Fake Dad to be done with his business upstairs.
Using a brilliant triple-helix structure, Sam Max’s playscript threads fantasy together with Connor’s past and present, creating a thriller in which there are Fake Dads and real daddies, surgery and blood play, childhood scarring and adulthood dissociation. In Double Serpent, sex and intimacy both redeem and reinflict.

An interview between Sam Max and Derek McCormack @derek_mccormack accompanies the playscript.
*

"Double Serpent is a disquieting fever dream from one of America’s freshest theatrical minds that will haunt you for days after you encounter it."
— Jordan Tannahill

“Wriggly, complicated, dense, beautiful, and so tight. I’ve read it so many times, and every time I get flashes of understanding, I reject them. I don’t want to understand it fully, I don’t want to understand what’s happening. I can’t get over how much Sam is doing.” —Derek McCormack

“Sam Max has written an exquisite and powerfully disturbing play in which growing up is no more an option than the incest taboo. Double Serpent takes the repetition compulsion to the nth power, in a slurred Escher maze where fantasy anticipates damage, or did I dream that, or did you say it first? A delicious shudder, for babies and former/future babies.” —Kay Gabriel

“Double Serpent vivisects the haunted covenant of survival within a life-liquidating economy of violence, and insists on the exacting need for connection that persists, even in the wake of the unbearable.” —Early Shinada

*
Cover design by John Patrikas

"Double Serpent is a disquieting fever dream from one of America’s freshest theatrical minds that will haunt you for days after you encounter it." — Jordan Tannahill

Preorder DOUBLE SERPENT now. Available May 1, 2026.

Sam Max is an American film director, screenwriter, stage director, and playwright, working in New York City and Berlin. His most recent play, Double Serpent, was nominated for Vienna’s prestigious Nestroy Prize for Best Performance in the German-Speaking World, and was selected for the 2025 Theatertreffen at Berliner Festspiele, as one of the 10 Most Remarkable Productions in Germany. He is the author of three additional stage plays: Pidor and the Wolf (Chesley-Bumbalo Award, Lotos Prize, Honorable Mention: Relentless Award), Coop (Theatertreffen-Stückemarkt, ETA Hoffmann Theater Bamberg), and The Holes (Deutsches Theater Berlin). In film, Sam’s debut short film Chaperone held its World Premiere at Sundance and has played over three-dozen festivals internationally. It received numerous festival awards including a Special Mention for Best U.S. Short (Palm Springs), Special Mention for Best Short (Turin), The Horizon Award for Most Promising Filmmaker (24fps), and the shortlist for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Sam has been named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” and he sits on the Board of film distributor Video Store.Age. He resides in New York City.

@asterism_books
@clmporg

Cover design by @johnpatrikas

"Double Serpent is a disquieting fever dream from one of America’s freshest theatrical minds that will haunt you for days after you encounter it." — Jordan Tannahill

Preorder DOUBLE SERPENT now. Available May 1, 2026.

Sam Max is an American film director, screenwriter, stage director, and playwright, working in New York City and Berlin. His most recent play, Double Serpent, was nominated for Vienna’s prestigious Nestroy Prize for Best Performance in the German-Speaking World, and was selected for the 2025 Theatertreffen at Berliner Festspiele, as one of the 10 Most Remarkable Productions in Germany. He is the author of three additional stage plays: Pidor and the Wolf (Chesley-Bumbalo Award, Lotos Prize, Honorable Mention: Relentless Award), Coop (Theatertreffen-Stückemarkt, ETA Hoffmann Theater Bamberg), and The Holes (Deutsches Theater Berlin). In film, Sam’s debut short film Chaperone held its World Premiere at Sundance and has played over three-dozen festivals internationally. It received numerous festival awards including a Special Mention for Best U.S. Short (Palm Springs), Special Mention for Best Short (Turin), The Horizon Award for Most Promising Filmmaker (24fps), and the shortlist for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Sam has been named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” and he sits on the Board of film distributor Video Store.Age. He resides in New York City.

@asterism_books
@clmporg

Cover design by @johnpatrikas

"Double Serpent is a disquieting fever dream from one of America’s freshest theatrical minds that will haunt you for days after you encounter it." — Jordan Tannahill

Preorder DOUBLE SERPENT now. Available May 1, 2026.

Sam Max is an American film director, screenwriter, stage director, and playwright, working in New York City and Berlin. His most recent play, Double Serpent, was nominated for Vienna’s prestigious Nestroy Prize for Best Performance in the German-Speaking World, and was selected for the 2025 Theatertreffen at Berliner Festspiele, as one of the 10 Most Remarkable Productions in Germany. He is the author of three additional stage plays: Pidor and the Wolf (Chesley-Bumbalo Award, Lotos Prize, Honorable Mention: Relentless Award), Coop (Theatertreffen-Stückemarkt, ETA Hoffmann Theater Bamberg), and The Holes (Deutsches Theater Berlin). In film, Sam’s debut short film Chaperone held its World Premiere at Sundance and has played over three-dozen festivals internationally. It received numerous festival awards including a Special Mention for Best U.S. Short (Palm Springs), Special Mention for Best Short (Turin), The Horizon Award for Most Promising Filmmaker (24fps), and the shortlist for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Sam has been named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” and he sits on the Board of film distributor Video Store.Age. He resides in New York City.

@asterism_books
@clmporg

Cover design by @johnpatrikas

"Double Serpent is a disquieting fever dream from one of America’s freshest theatrical minds that will haunt you for days after you encounter it." — Jordan Tannahill

Preorder DOUBLE SERPENT now. Available May 1, 2026.

Sam Max is an American film director, screenwriter, stage director, and playwright, working in New York City and Berlin. His most recent play, Double Serpent, was nominated for Vienna’s prestigious Nestroy Prize for Best Performance in the German-Speaking World, and was selected for the 2025 Theatertreffen at Berliner Festspiele, as one of the 10 Most Remarkable Productions in Germany. He is the author of three additional stage plays: Pidor and the Wolf (Chesley-Bumbalo Award, Lotos Prize, Honorable Mention: Relentless Award), Coop (Theatertreffen-Stückemarkt, ETA Hoffmann Theater Bamberg), and The Holes (Deutsches Theater Berlin). In film, Sam’s debut short film Chaperone held its World Premiere at Sundance and has played over three-dozen festivals internationally. It received numerous festival awards including a Special Mention for Best U.S. Short (Palm Springs), Special Mention for Best Short (Turin), The Horizon Award for Most Promising Filmmaker (24fps), and the shortlist for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Sam has been named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” and he sits on the Board of film distributor Video Store.Age. He resides in New York City.

@asterism_books
@clmporg

Cover design by @johnpatrikas

"Double Serpent is a disquieting fever dream from one of America’s freshest theatrical minds that will haunt you for days after you encounter it." — Jordan Tannahill

Preorder DOUBLE SERPENT now. Available May 1, 2026.

Sam Max is an American film director, screenwriter, stage director, and playwright, working in New York City and Berlin. His most recent play, Double Serpent, was nominated for Vienna’s prestigious Nestroy Prize for Best Performance in the German-Speaking World, and was selected for the 2025 Theatertreffen at Berliner Festspiele, as one of the 10 Most Remarkable Productions in Germany. He is the author of three additional stage plays: Pidor and the Wolf (Chesley-Bumbalo Award, Lotos Prize, Honorable Mention: Relentless Award), Coop (Theatertreffen-Stückemarkt, ETA Hoffmann Theater Bamberg), and The Holes (Deutsches Theater Berlin). In film, Sam’s debut short film Chaperone held its World Premiere at Sundance and has played over three-dozen festivals internationally. It received numerous festival awards including a Special Mention for Best U.S. Short (Palm Springs), Special Mention for Best Short (Turin), The Horizon Award for Most Promising Filmmaker (24fps), and the shortlist for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Sam has been named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” and he sits on the Board of film distributor Video Store.Age. He resides in New York City.

@asterism_books
@clmporg

Cover design by @johnpatrikas

"Double Serpent is a disquieting fever dream from one of America’s freshest theatrical minds that will haunt you for days after you encounter it." — Jordan Tannahill

Preorder DOUBLE SERPENT now. Available May 1, 2026.

Sam Max is an American film director, screenwriter, stage director, and playwright, working in New York City and Berlin. His most recent play, Double Serpent, was nominated for Vienna’s prestigious Nestroy Prize for Best Performance in the German-Speaking World, and was selected for the 2025 Theatertreffen at Berliner Festspiele, as one of the 10 Most Remarkable Productions in Germany. He is the author of three additional stage plays: Pidor and the Wolf (Chesley-Bumbalo Award, Lotos Prize, Honorable Mention: Relentless Award), Coop (Theatertreffen-Stückemarkt, ETA Hoffmann Theater Bamberg), and The Holes (Deutsches Theater Berlin). In film, Sam’s debut short film Chaperone held its World Premiere at Sundance and has played over three-dozen festivals internationally. It received numerous festival awards including a Special Mention for Best U.S. Short (Palm Springs), Special Mention for Best Short (Turin), The Horizon Award for Most Promising Filmmaker (24fps), and the shortlist for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Sam has been named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” and he sits on the Board of film distributor Video Store.Age. He resides in New York City.

@asterism_books
@clmporg

Cover design by @johnpatrikas

"Double Serpent is a disquieting fever dream from one of America’s freshest theatrical minds that will haunt you for days after you encounter it." — Jordan Tannahill

Preorder DOUBLE SERPENT now. Available May 1, 2026.

Sam Max is an American film director, screenwriter, stage director, and playwright, working in New York City and Berlin. His most recent play, Double Serpent, was nominated for Vienna’s prestigious Nestroy Prize for Best Performance in the German-Speaking World, and was selected for the 2025 Theatertreffen at Berliner Festspiele, as one of the 10 Most Remarkable Productions in Germany. He is the author of three additional stage plays: Pidor and the Wolf (Chesley-Bumbalo Award, Lotos Prize, Honorable Mention: Relentless Award), Coop (Theatertreffen-Stückemarkt, ETA Hoffmann Theater Bamberg), and The Holes (Deutsches Theater Berlin). In film, Sam’s debut short film Chaperone held its World Premiere at Sundance and has played over three-dozen festivals internationally. It received numerous festival awards including a Special Mention for Best U.S. Short (Palm Springs), Special Mention for Best Short (Turin), The Horizon Award for Most Promising Filmmaker (24fps), and the shortlist for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Sam has been named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” and he sits on the Board of film distributor Video Store.Age. He resides in New York City.

@asterism_books
@clmporg

Cover design by @johnpatrikas

"Double Serpent is a disquieting fever dream from one of America’s freshest theatrical minds that will haunt you for days after you encounter it." — Jordan Tannahill

Preorder DOUBLE SERPENT now. Available May 1, 2026.

Sam Max is an American film director, screenwriter, stage director, and playwright, working in New York City and Berlin. His most recent play, Double Serpent, was nominated for Vienna’s prestigious Nestroy Prize for Best Performance in the German-Speaking World, and was selected for the 2025 Theatertreffen at Berliner Festspiele, as one of the 10 Most Remarkable Productions in Germany. He is the author of three additional stage plays: Pidor and the Wolf (Chesley-Bumbalo Award, Lotos Prize, Honorable Mention: Relentless Award), Coop (Theatertreffen-Stückemarkt, ETA Hoffmann Theater Bamberg), and The Holes (Deutsches Theater Berlin). In film, Sam’s debut short film Chaperone held its World Premiere at Sundance and has played over three-dozen festivals internationally. It received numerous festival awards including a Special Mention for Best U.S. Short (Palm Springs), Special Mention for Best Short (Turin), The Horizon Award for Most Promising Filmmaker (24fps), and the shortlist for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Sam has been named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” and he sits on the Board of film distributor Video Store.Age. He resides in New York City.

@asterism_books
@clmporg

Cover design by @johnpatrikas

"Double Serpent is a disquieting fever dream from one of America’s freshest theatrical minds that will haunt you for days after you encounter it." — Jordan Tannahill

Preorder DOUBLE SERPENT now. Available May 1, 2026.

Sam Max is an American film director, screenwriter, stage director, and playwright, working in New York City and Berlin. His most recent play, Double Serpent, was nominated for Vienna’s prestigious Nestroy Prize for Best Performance in the German-Speaking World, and was selected for the 2025 Theatertreffen at Berliner Festspiele, as one of the 10 Most Remarkable Productions in Germany. He is the author of three additional stage plays: Pidor and the Wolf (Chesley-Bumbalo Award, Lotos Prize, Honorable Mention: Relentless Award), Coop (Theatertreffen-Stückemarkt, ETA Hoffmann Theater Bamberg), and The Holes (Deutsches Theater Berlin). In film, Sam’s debut short film Chaperone held its World Premiere at Sundance and has played over three-dozen festivals internationally. It received numerous festival awards including a Special Mention for Best U.S. Short (Palm Springs), Special Mention for Best Short (Turin), The Horizon Award for Most Promising Filmmaker (24fps), and the shortlist for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Sam has been named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” and he sits on the Board of film distributor Video Store.Age. He resides in New York City.

@asterism_books
@clmporg

Cover design by @johnpatrikas

"Double Serpent is a disquieting fever dream from one of America’s freshest theatrical minds that will haunt you for days after you encounter it." — Jordan Tannahill

Preorder DOUBLE SERPENT now. Available May 1, 2026.

Sam Max is an American film director, screenwriter, stage director, and playwright, working in New York City and Berlin. His most recent play, Double Serpent, was nominated for Vienna’s prestigious Nestroy Prize for Best Performance in the German-Speaking World, and was selected for the 2025 Theatertreffen at Berliner Festspiele, as one of the 10 Most Remarkable Productions in Germany. He is the author of three additional stage plays: Pidor and the Wolf (Chesley-Bumbalo Award, Lotos Prize, Honorable Mention: Relentless Award), Coop (Theatertreffen-Stückemarkt, ETA Hoffmann Theater Bamberg), and The Holes (Deutsches Theater Berlin). In film, Sam’s debut short film Chaperone held its World Premiere at Sundance and has played over three-dozen festivals internationally. It received numerous festival awards including a Special Mention for Best U.S. Short (Palm Springs), Special Mention for Best Short (Turin), The Horizon Award for Most Promising Filmmaker (24fps), and the shortlist for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Sam has been named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” and he sits on the Board of film distributor Video Store.Age. He resides in New York City.

@asterism_books
@clmporg

Cover design by @johnpatrikas

I’m extremely honored and excited to finally announce that my first film CHAPERONE will premiere at #Sundance Film Festival in January.
director: sam max
screenwriter: sam max
Starring: @zacharyquinto @russellmuslce

Producers: sam max, @russellmuslce, @katieschillerfilm, @lio.mehiel, @pmurrs
EP: @zacharyquinto

DP: @jordantparrott
Editor: @dulcinee__
Music: @nardothedude / @pantherholler
Production Design: @steph.osin.cohen
Art: @cocodeliso
Costumes: @michellejxli
Sound: @kieranaltmann
Sound Editor: Hunter Berk
Color: @breezus_christ
…. N many more

See u in January :-)

Available now via Ugly Duckling and Asterism :)

Double Serpent, a play, which is also my first book as solo author, is out today from @uglyducklingpresse ! Featuring an interview with me by @derek_mccormack

The design is by @johnpatrikas :3

Double Serpent, a play, which is also my first book as solo author, is out today from @uglyducklingpresse ! Featuring an interview with me by @derek_mccormack

The design is by @johnpatrikas :3

Double Serpent, a play, which is also my first book as solo author, is out today from @uglyducklingpresse ! Featuring an interview with me by @derek_mccormack

The design is by @johnpatrikas :3

Double Serpent, a play, which is also my first book as solo author, is out today from @uglyducklingpresse ! Featuring an interview with me by @derek_mccormack

The design is by @johnpatrikas :3

Double Serpent, a play, which is also my first book as solo author, is out today from @uglyducklingpresse ! Featuring an interview with me by @derek_mccormack

The design is by @johnpatrikas :3

Double Serpent, a play, which is also my first book as solo author, is out today from @uglyducklingpresse ! Featuring an interview with me by @derek_mccormack

The design is by @johnpatrikas :3

Double Serpent, a play, which is also my first book as solo author, is out today from @uglyducklingpresse ! Featuring an interview with me by @derek_mccormack

The design is by @johnpatrikas :3

Wrapped my first feature yesterday. Hardest 28 days of my life. Departed reality entirely. Thank you for the dream, to everyone who touched this shoot. I hardly have the words, only that I’m in a surreal place and I won’t come back for a long time. I’ll never, ever forget you. Touched/moved… I’ll make you proud and can’t wait to share it with you

by Blythe :) @blythemarks

@suhrkampverlag Suhrkamp Theater • The Drama Is Present im Roten Salon

06.06. Double Serpent von Sam Max @sam_____max Mit dem Autor und den Schauspielern Caner Sunar @canersunar & Jonas Hien @jonashien

26.06. Kranke Hunde von Ariane Koch @ary_coach Mit der Autorin und dem Ensemble der Volksbühne

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Am 06. Juni präsentiert der Autor Sam Max sein Theaterstück: Double Serpent stellt die Frage nach dem gesellschaftlichen Umgang mit Körpern von Gay Men und ihren Wunden – und thematisiert den Zusammenhang von Macht, Erbe, Männlichkeit und Gewalt. Im Mai war die Uraufführungsinszenierung von Ersan Mondtag vom Staatstheater Wiesbaden zum Berliner Theatertreffen eingeladen – im Juni feiern wir nun die Buchpremiere!

***
Ariane Koch kommt am 26. Juni in den Roten Salon. Ihr Theaterstück Kranke Hunde erzählt in einer thrillerhaften Tour de Force voller Sprachwitz von unserer erschöpften Gesellschaft und den Absurditäten des Gesundheitswesens – und berührt dabei in fast beiläufiger Raffinesse und rasantem Tempo das, was uns spätestens seit der Pandemie alle beschäftigt: Was tun mit all den kranken Körpern?

@suhrkampverlag Suhrkamp Theater • The Drama Is Present im Roten Salon

06.06. Double Serpent von Sam Max @sam_____max Mit dem Autor und den Schauspielern Caner Sunar @canersunar & Jonas Hien @jonashien

26.06. Kranke Hunde von Ariane Koch @ary_coach Mit der Autorin und dem Ensemble der Volksbühne

*
Am 06. Juni präsentiert der Autor Sam Max sein Theaterstück: Double Serpent stellt die Frage nach dem gesellschaftlichen Umgang mit Körpern von Gay Men und ihren Wunden – und thematisiert den Zusammenhang von Macht, Erbe, Männlichkeit und Gewalt. Im Mai war die Uraufführungsinszenierung von Ersan Mondtag vom Staatstheater Wiesbaden zum Berliner Theatertreffen eingeladen – im Juni feiern wir nun die Buchpremiere!

***
Ariane Koch kommt am 26. Juni in den Roten Salon. Ihr Theaterstück Kranke Hunde erzählt in einer thrillerhaften Tour de Force voller Sprachwitz von unserer erschöpften Gesellschaft und den Absurditäten des Gesundheitswesens – und berührt dabei in fast beiläufiger Raffinesse und rasantem Tempo das, was uns spätestens seit der Pandemie alle beschäftigt: Was tun mit all den kranken Körpern?

Me by baby Ethan @e_____t

Double Serpent graces the cover of @theaterheute_zeitschrift this May

Another by Agustín @agustinfar

Double Serpent is out today from @suhrkampverlag!
In a translation by Wilke Weermann @wilkeweermann
Artwork by Adam Linn @paris_of_appalachia
Edited by Anna-Katharina Müller @anna_katharinamueller

The premiere production of the play directed by Ersan Mondtag @ersanmondtag will visit Berlin for the 62nd Theatertreffen, 17 and 18 May at @berlinerfestspiele. Tickets on sale for that from 17 April

Double Serpent is out today from @suhrkampverlag!
In a translation by Wilke Weermann @wilkeweermann
Artwork by Adam Linn @paris_of_appalachia
Edited by Anna-Katharina Müller @anna_katharinamueller

The premiere production of the play directed by Ersan Mondtag @ersanmondtag will visit Berlin for the 62nd Theatertreffen, 17 and 18 May at @berlinerfestspiele. Tickets on sale for that from 17 April