ABOUT
TRUST — TRUth on STage:
Stories, Journalism, Theatre is a groundbreaking European collaboration exploring what happens when journalism and theatre meet on stage.
Across Europe, artists and journalists are joining forces to investigate urgent stories and transform them into powerful live performances that invite audiences to think, question, and engage.
Led by Schauspiel Köln and the European Theatre Convention, TRUST brings together ten leading European theatre institutions and media collaborators to experiment with a new artistic form: journalistic theatre — a genre where investigative research meets the emotional power of performance.
Aiming to develop a replicable model for journalistic theatre, the project is founded on the conviction that theatre, when combined with the investigative depth and the truth-driven ethos of journalism, can become a powerful space for public dialogue and democratic debate.
At a time of misinformation and growing social polarisation, TRUST explores how theatre can become a place where facts, stories, and collective reflection come together.
TRUST is co-funded by the European Union.
From Story to Stage:
How TRUST Works
Professional journalists collaborate directly with theatre makers, bringing investigative research, fact-checking, and real-world reporting into the creative process.
Theatre transforms complex reporting into powerful live narratives that engage audiences emotionally as well as intellectually.
Artists, journalists, and audiences work together across Europe to explore how stories can be told responsibly, creatively, and with impact.
A European Collaboration
TRUST is co-led by Schauspiel Köln and the European Theatre Convention (ETC).
Together with leading theatres across Europe, the consortium brings together artistic experimentation,
journalism, research, and international collaboration to build a new model for theatre in the 21st century.
The project is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union, supporting cross-border cultural cooperation and innovation in the arts.
Why TRUST?
Theatre has always been a space for reflection. But in today's world shaped by disinformation, political
polarisation, and complex global crises, new storytelling tools are needed.
TRUST responds to thischallenge by exploring how journalistic investigation
and theatrical storytelling can work together to:
- Develop a new European model for journalistic theatre
- Strengthen collaboration between journalists and cultural institutions
- Engage audiences with complex social issues
- Create space for public dialogue and reflection
- Build a lasting European network of theatre and media partners
TRUST unfolds across several phases:
Research & Collaboration
Journalists and theatre makers meet, exchange methods, and begin developing new work.
Artistic Production
Partners create and present journalistic theatre performances across Europe.
Network & Legacy
The project publishes its findings and launches a European collective dedicated to journalistic theatre.
Behind the Scenes:
The Story Behind the Project
The spark for TRUST grew out of an extraordinary cultural and
societal moment.
In 2024, theatre director Kay Voges, now Artistic Director of Schauspiel Köln, collaborated with the
investigative newsroom CORRECTIV on a groundbreaking
project: a verbatim theatre production based on the investigation
Geheimplan gegen Deutschland
.
The performance brought the reporting to the stage using the exact words of the investigation. What followed was unprecedented. The script was released as open source, allowing other theatres to stage the work themselves. Within weeks, the production spread across the country — staged in more than 40 theatres in Germany and reaching over 1.5 million viewers online through livestreams and on-demand broadcasts.
The impact extended far beyond the theatre. By amplifying the investigation and creating spaces for collective reflection, theatres helped accelerate public awareness of the story — contributing to one of the largest protests in modern German history, with millions of people taking to the streets.
This moment revealed something powerful: theatre could play a crucial role in bringing investigative journalism into the public sphere in new ways.
It also raised urgent questions.
Could this kind of collaboration between journalists and theatre makers work across different countries and political contexts?
What kinds of investigations translate best to the stage?
What artistic approaches make journalistic theatre most effective?
And could a shared model be developed that allows any theatre — regardless of experience with research-driven productions — to create impactful work with journalists?
TRUST turns these questions into a Europe-wide artistic experiment, exploring how journalism and theatre can work together to inform audiences, spark dialogue, and bring urgent stories to the stage.
