London at the turn of the century. In this dark metropolis Adolf Verloc leads a double life. Nominally the owner of a disreputable Soho store, Verloc makes his living as a police informant for Scotland Yard, keeping an eye on the city’s anarchist scene. At the same time, Verloc works as a secret agent for Tsarist Russia. Verloc’s friends, the local lot of anarchists, as well as his stoic wife Winnie and his idealistic brother-in-law Stevie are none the wiser about the precarious life Verloc leads.

Verloc’s fortune changes when one gloomy morning he is called into the Russian Embassy. Mr. Vladimir, the tsar’s ambassador to England, reveals to Verloc a sinister plan: Verloc is to stage a false-flag operation: blow up the world-famous Greenwich observatory and put the blame on London’s anarchists. Before long Verloc, as well as the unsuspecting Winnie and Stevie, find themselves at the centre of an explosive conspiracy that shakes London all the way from the murky streets of Soho to the highest echelons of political power.

Inspired by real events and written over a hundred years ago, Joseph Conrad’s novel tackles contemporary themes of political violence, espionage, and the unexamined horror of domestic life. Performed in a new adaptation by Sören Melchers, The Secret Agent is a trailblazer of modern spy fiction, rarely seen on stage.

Performed by Elisabeth Kollatz, Dennis Massmann, Julius Helbig, Natalie Bockarev, Arhan Erdogan, Mark Petek, Saranda Mustafi, Alex Hübner and Annika Doering.

Produced by Nathalie Kroll, Havin Akmandor and Alex Hübner.