Die Acht Frauen

About the production

It was supposed to be an idyllic family gathering, but then the master of the house is found lying on his back in his room, stabbed to death. The phone line has been cut, the gate is locked, and the car has suddenly broken down. Clearly murder.

Cut off from the outside world, it quickly becomes clear to the women present that only one of them could be the culprit. Was it the sophisticated mistress of the house, Gaby? Her intelligent daughter Susanne, or the hyperactive younger sister Catherine? The miserly grandmother, the old maid Augustine, the housekeeper Madame Chanel, the new and cunning chambermaid, or the dead man's wicked sister Pierrette?

Robert Thomas' play became a cinema hit as François Ozon's “8 Women”, which won a Silver Bear at the 2002 Berlinale and the European Film Award. At the Fritz Theater in Chemnitz it is a clever blend of crime comedy and character study, peppered with show numbers, where Agatha Christie suspense meets black humour. The premiere on 4 September 2026 was sold out.

“Agatha Christie suspense meets black humour: Petra Ratiu stages ‘Die acht Frauen’ in Chemnitz as a grotesquely escalating family gathering with a surprising ending.”