Theatre
For the pdf-version of the play, please contact: akgodec@gmail.com
The Others
The play “The Others” by Anne-Kathrin Godec is a psychological drama that, through the intimate conflict of a couple, explores questions of displacement, fear, identity, and the limits of empathy. The story is set in an isolated cottage in the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar, where Marina, a lecturer in comparative literature, and her partner Domagoj, a ship captain, attempt to reconnect after his three-month absence. Their relationship begins to fracture when Marina admits that during his absence she helped Yusuf, a Syrian refugee who had been hiding in their house.
While Marina sees Yusuf as an exhausted human being in need of help, Domagoj reacts with fear, distrust, and aggression, revealing deeply rooted prejudices and his own inner insecurities. Their dialogue gradually develops into an emotional confrontation in which humanism and xenophobia, idealism and cynicism, but also different understandings of love, morality, and responsibility collide.
Parallel to the main plot, episodes appear about Maria and Domenico, a couple from the 12th century fleeing Constantinople for Jerusalem, creating a historical connection between past and present migrations. In this way, The Others becomes a powerful study of the fear of the Other, but also of the fragility of intimate relationships in a world marked by insecurity, war, and moral division.
All Rights © Anne-Kathrin Godec
The End of the World
The drama The End of the World is set in a near future after a series of climate catastrophes that have devastated society and pushed the world to the brink of collapse. At the centre of the story are the brothers Robert and Maro, trapped in the basement rooms of a theatre after a powerful earthquake strikes the capital city. While chaos reigns outside — collapsed buildings, toxic clouds, shortages, and the breakdown of communication systems — the two are forced to confront their fears, failures, and unresolved family tensions. What begins as a struggle for physical survival gradually turns into a psychological confrontation between two men who have spent their entire lives trying to fulfil social expectations and their own ideas of masculinity, success, and heroism.
Through intense dialogue, the play explores the fragility of identity in a disappearing world and asks what remains of a person once social roles, technology, and the illusion of security have vanished. Robert, a successful actor who outwardly appears stable and dominant, gradually reveals a deep insecurity and fear of losing control, while Maro, the younger brother without a clear direction in life, articulates the sense of generational disorientation and helplessness in the face of a future that no longer exists. The End of the World is not only a dystopian drama about climate catastrophe, but above all a play about male vulnerability, family hierarchies, and the human need for closeness at the moment when both the external and internal worlds begin to collapse.
All Rights © Anne-Kathrin Godec
Earthquake in the Head
or
Who do you think you are?
The monodrama "Earthquake in the Head" follows Dina, a successful woman in her fifties who once lived a free and adventurous life, travelling the world and working as a communication trainer for international humanitarian organisations. After suffering from burnout, her life is further destroyed by chronic migraines that have lasted for more than one hundred consecutive days. Confined to a dark room, Dina has intense conversations with the artificial intelligence on her phone, desperately searching for meaning in her pain and trying to understand who she has become.
Through emotional monologues, she reflects on her youth, past relationships, travels, and the sense of freedom she once possessed. At the same time, she feels that she has lost her identity: she no longer knows whether she is still a mother, a wife, a poet, or simply a woman defined by illness. Her conversations with ChatGPT gradually move from medical explanations to deeper philosophical questions about identity, control, and human suffering.
The climax occurs when Dina experiences what she believes is another violent migraine attack, only to realise that a real earthquake has struck outside. This moment becomes a symbol of her inner awakening. For the first time in a long while, she feels alive and full of energy again. She understands that she has lost her spontaneity and passion for life and decides to leave her apartment and face the world once more. The play explores psychological and physical collapse, but also the possibility of rediscovering oneself through confronting one’s own “earthquake in the head.”
All Rights © Anne-Kathrin Godec