I HIRED A CONTRACT KILLER

An unusual crime story on stage: after failed suicide attempts, Henri Boulanger hires a professional killer—and just then falls in love with life all over again. But the contract is now irreversible. Based on a story by Aki Kaurismäki, this is a laconic tragicomedy about loneliness, chance, and the quiet humour of failure.

A man has had nothing but bad luck in his life—and plenty of it. After many years of service, Henri Boulanger receives a gold watch from his company as a loyalty bonus—along with his dismissal. The taciturn, socially withdrawn man tries unsuccessfully to find a new job. Alone in his apartment, he decides to end his life.
After several failed suicide attempts, he withdraws all his savings, pawns the gold watch, and hires a professional killer to carry out the task for him. But Henri is a man of extraordinary misfortune: just after commissioning the hitman, he falls in love and suddenly begins to see the world in a completely different light.
Yet the contract can no longer be cancelled. Moreover, the hitman is not only flawless and professional, but also terminally ill—and this assignment is his very last job.

In his highly unconventional crime story, Aki Kaurismäki masterfully combines familiar situations, characters, and unexpected twists. At its core, it is a social study: rather than hardened heroes, the story focuses on vulnerable, lonely, and down-on-their-luck individuals. In doing so, Kaurismäki turns expectations upside down and repeatedly resolves tension with subtle, ironic humour.

Julia Hölscher initially studied vocal performance and worked as a singer at Schauspielhaus Hamburg before earning a degree in directing at the city’s theater academy. Her early productions took her to Schauspiel Hannover, Schauspiel Düsseldorf, and Schauspiel Frankfurt. From 2009 to 2013, she served as resident director at Staatsschauspiel Dresden, and from 2015 to 2020 at Theater Basel. Since 2013, she has also directed musical theater productions and regularly works as a radio drama director for Deutschlandfunk Kultur. In addition, she teaches at the Theaterakademie Hamburg and the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. Her most recent production at Theater Bonn was GLAUBE LIEBE HOFFNUNG in the 2024–25 season.