CY LINKE

Author, Director, Performer

Photo: Dorothea Tuch

NEWS

- Debut novel, “Stierhunger”, is published by Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt on the 8th of March 2027
- “Das Spinnhaus” premieres at the 8th of January 2027 at Lichthof Theatre
- “KAPUTT, LIEBEN” at Thalia Theatre Hamburg is in the repertoire
- “Pussyking* and the Pirates” at Theater Magdeburg is in the repertoire

ABOUT

Cy Linke, who grew up in the Ruhr region, is an author, director and performer. They studied philosophy-arts-media at the University of Hildesheim and directing at the HfMT in Hamburg and the ZHdK in Zurich. With their final production “Fallen (durchgestrichen)” they were invited to the Körber Studio Junge Regie 2022 and to the OUT NOW Festival Bremen 2023.

Linke is currently celebrating a possible impossible chosen family party in “Kaputt, Lieben” at the Thalia Theatre. In “Pussyking* and the Pirates” at the Magdeburg Theatre, Linke explores a society of unequals amongst unequals, in which a king* no longer needs a crown. Linke recently staged the world premiere of Torrey Peters’ novel “Detransition, Baby” at the Staatstheater Darmstadt. Other works have dealt, alongside queerness and illness, with queerphobia and transphobia, the fear of falling and failing, obedience and disobedience, desire and rebellion, and forms of care. Linke's works are always in love with their and human vulnerability and examine social microcosms as flashpoints for structural power dynamics and possibilities for changes.

Works have been shown at Ballhaus Ost Berlin, Lichthof Theater Hamburg, Theater Magdeburg, the international Annie Ernaux Conference in Edinburgh & St Andrews, Kosmos Theater Vienna, Neumarkt Theater Zurich, Staatstheater Braunschweig, Schauspiel Hannover, Thalia Theater Hamburg, Kampnagel, Stuttgarter Literaturfestival, re:publica and many more.

As a director, Cy Linke was invited to Hessische Theatertage with “Detransition, Baby”, participant of the International Forum (Theatertreffen Berlin 2025), invited to the Hauptsache Frei Festival Hamburg and the 6 tage frei Festival Stuttgart 2021 with “52 HERTZ” and with “uniform” and “Schatten (Eurydike sagt)” to WE PRESENT. 2024 - 2025 Cy Linke was a mentee of Heinrich Horwitz as part of the mentoring program “Re:Balance - Gender Equality in the Arts” of the Rudolf Augstein Foundation.

As an author, Cy Linke received the working scholarship for German-language literature from the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion in 2023 and the Baby David-Stipendium für Neues Erzählen in 2024. 2018 - 2020 Linke was a mentee of Nina Peters (Suhrkamp Theater Verlag) as part of the mentoring program of the Berlin Performing Arts Program. In 2016 Linke was invited to the Munich Poetry Prize, in 2012 scholarship holder of the Lower Saxony Foundation, postpoetry.NRW prize winner and invited to the Munich Poetry Prize and the Treffen junger Autor*innen.

During their studies, Linke was supported by the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes. Their artistic work has been supported by the Goethe Institute, the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion and the Fonds Darstellende Künste, among others.

Together with psychologist Hannah Lesser, Cy Linke has been researching on groups, power and salutogenesis since 2018 and has developed the workshops “Psychische Gesundheit in der Kulturarbeit” and “Kunst und Zoff” with Lesser. Linke also invents encounter formats such as “On Friendship”, invited to the festival COMMON PLACES - Tage für Partizipation und Theater 2022 or the “Neighborhoodgame” as part of the Nachbarschaftsarchiv curated by Anna Gohmert for people who do (not yet) know each other.

Cy Linke is currently asking themself how to co-create braver spaces for visions and, in between all the offers to be against something, be for something - which is for pleasure & care?

Cy Linke is trained in the Pantarei Approach and works as a bodyworker alongside their artistic work.