"Times change, but people remain the same scoundrels."

Max Liebermann’s letters reveal not only the artist, but also the chronicler and astute observer of social developments. They offer insight into his inner world, caught between cosmopolitanism and growing marginalization, between bourgeois culture and political oppression. His correspondence speaks of art, personal doubts, and the growing threat to Jewish life in Germany—making it a powerful document of an era in transition. 

Nina Kunzendorf and Fabian Hinrichs bring the letters to life. Their performance combines art history and storytelling into a moving evening that allows us to experience Liebermann’s voice in a new way.


Nina Kunzendorf, born in 1971, studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Hamburg. After an engagement at the Nationaltheater Mannheim, she performed at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, and subsequently as part of the ensemble at the Münchner Kammerspiele until 2004. She made her television debut in 2002 in Jo Baier’s “Verlorenes Land.” She has received the Grimme Prize multiple times, including in 2006 for her role in “Polizeiruf 110 – Der scharlachrote Engel,” in 2011 for “In aller Stille,” and in 2012 for “Liebesjahre.” In 2015, she received the German Film Award for her role in Christian Petzold’s “Phoenix.” In 2023, she was nominated for the Hessian Film and Cinema Award for the film “Das Mädchen von früher.” 

Fabian Hinrichs is one of the most versatile and highly acclaimed actors in the German-speaking world. He gained stage experience at renowned theaters such as the Volksbühne Berlin, the Münchener Kammerspiele, and the Burgtheater in Vienna, and was named Theater Actor of the Year twice—in 2010 and 2020—by critics from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In addition to his stage work, he is known to a wide audience as Tatort detective Felix Voss on ARD; he gained international recognition for his role as Hans Scholl in the Oscar-nominated film “Sophie Scholl: The Final Days” (2005). As a writer and director, Hinrichs has been developing his own theater productions since 2008, including for the Berliner Festspiele and HAU Berlin; numerous plays by René Pollesch and himself have been co-authored and co-directed for Rowohlt Verlag. Among his most recent awards is the German Television Academy Award for his leading role in the ARD series “ZERV.” Hinrichs is a member of the German and European Film Academies as well as the German Television Academy. His personal non-fiction book “Aesthetics of Despair” is scheduled for release in 2027.