An immersive theatre experiment in three steps. A modern prequel to the Faust story — staged across Leipzig as a dubious modelling agency where ambition meets spiritual megalomania.
See Chapter I documentation → See Chapter II documentation →
A man named Salvatore Russo runs a modelling agency that does not behave like one. He calls his work transcendental research. He auditions, hypnotises, and trains a small roster of beautiful people through three states he believes are the doorway to eternal life: Sloth, Lust, and Pride.
Each chapter takes one of those states and stages it for an audience that walks freely through the space. A naïve volunteer is induced into Sloth. A long-trained graduate demonstrates Lust. A paying client undergoes Pride — for real money, in real time, while sketch artists draw what is happening to her.
It is a pact, in three movements. You decide whether anyone is joking.
A modern Faust, told in the language of contracts and posture.
— Los Angeles Rhymes
Each chapter is complete on its own — but the cycle accumulates. By Pride, the ground beneath it has memory.
“ How to Do (Almost) Nothing. ” A young woman was chosen, on the spot, from the lawn. Salvatore induced her into a deep, comfortable inertia and asked the artists present to draw her surrender. She was a simulation of the state: hypnotised, then released.
30 May · 19:00 · complete
“ How to Enjoy Your Desires. ” A graduate of the methodology — the Italian top model Alfredo Miamo — performs a wordless masterclass with one partner. He is a demonstration: kinetic, conscious, openly trained. The audience moves around them; the form keeps adjusting.
27 June · 19:00 · complete
Martinsplatz · Kleinzschocher — Going south. The night opens.
See documentation → · Read the conversation → · Explore the anatomy of Lust →
“ How to Peak and Live Forever. ” The most-charged chapter. A paying client — selected from real applications — undergoes Phase III in front of the standing circle. There is no script for what she does, only a method. We call this not a performance but an immersion.
25 July · 17:30–19:30
There is no curtain, no rows, no programme rustle. You walk in, find an angle, and stay there or move. The performers do not break to look at you, because you are inside the room they are working in — a space held by a circle of standing witnesses, whether a clearing under the sky or four walls.
If you have hesitated to book a play because you were not sure what to wear, or where to laugh, or whether you would understand: this is the easier door. Most of GLORY is wordless. What is said is short. The body is the script.
The performers are not professional actors playing characters. They are people committed to a careful, internal protocol — a rehearsal that runs more like a clinical study than a blocking session.
What you watch is a real psychological state, induced or trained or paid for. The hypnosis in Chapter I is real hypnosis. The bargain in Chapter III is signed with real money. The drawings made in the room are kept by the artists who made them.
The piece is built on a trick of frames: behave as if everything is true, and most of it begins to be.
GLORY is conceived and authored by:
Author and lead. Performs the agency's head, Salvatore Russo. Directs the cycle's overall arc.
Co-author. Performs Chapter I as Franz Joseph, the volunteer pulled from the lawn and led into Sloth.
Co-author. Contributes to the writing and dramaturgy across the cycle.
Co-author. Performs Chapter II as Alfredo Miamo, the graduate top model who demonstrates Lust. Scouted Martinsplatz in Kleinzschocher for this chapter — its convex and concave ground, its stones, its grass. Read the pre-performance conversation →
Co-author. Performs Chapter III as Linda, the paying client undergoing the Pride immersion.
Staged across Leipzig — Chapter I on the meadow in Johannapark behind the Lutherkirche, Chapter II at Martinsplatz in Kleinzschocher, Chapter III indoors at Café Rosa on Merseburger Straße. Drawing audience by Bildzweig. Print and visual identity by Avel Tangibles.
The performance runs straight through. The circle seals ten minutes after the start; latecomers cannot be admitted while a chapter is in motion.
You will be standing and moving for most of the two hours. Two folding chairs sit by the entry for those who need them — please ask the steward when you arrive. Pillows and blankets are laid out if you want to drop down between scenes.
Photography and recording are not permitted during the performance. After the bow, the space is yours.
Yes. The induction in Chapter I follows real stage-hypnosis protocols (the eight-word induction, handshake interrupts) performed by Avellanosa as Salvatore Russo. The volunteer is dehypnotised in front of the audience before the chapter ends.
No. The volunteer in Chapter I is selected from a small group who has opted in beforehand. If you do not want to be approached, you will not be approached.
It's a prequel — set before any deal is signed. The Faust legend hangs in the air, but the names, jargon, and rituals are entirely the project's own.
Yes. Each chapter stands alone. The full-cycle pass exists because the three accumulate into a fourth thing, but a single chapter is a complete evening.
A row of artists from Bildzweig draws the action live, in silence, throughout. Their pages are not part of the performance — they are a witness layer. After the bow, the artists' boards stay laid out — you are welcome to walk past and look.
Within the project's logic, yes — one selected client per cycle pays for the Phase III immersion. Whether the transaction is fictional, theatrical, or real-and-fictional at once is precisely the question GLORY asks you to sit with.
Sometimes. The room holds intimacy at very short range. There is nothing graphic, but there is little comfortable distance.
Single chapters are €10. The full cycle is €25, includes priority entry, and arrives with a signed photograph by Alfredo Miamo. Capacity is strictly limited; we recommend booking ahead.
Press & reviewers: please contact [email protected] for guest list.
Where to find us
Within the Clara-Zetkin-Park grounds (the eastern half is officially Johannapark since 2011, but many locals still call the whole park Clara). Look for the meadow on the south side of the church.
A square in the old village heart of Kleinzschocher, by the Johannes-Kepler-Gymnasium. The chapter takes the open space at dusk; arrive a few minutes early to find us.
A warm room on Merseburger Straße in Lindenau. Pride comes indoors: the ascent is staged inside. Arrive a few minutes early to find us and settle.