This title contains essays by Wieland Schmied, Lucien Kayser, and Britta Schmitz. This title has been published to accompany the exhibition at the Nationalgalerie Berlin, November 2006 - January 2007, the first retrospective in Germany devoted to the complete works of the Viennese Actionist. Hermann Nitsch has developed Orgies Mysteries Theatre, a theatrical form that combines painting, music, drama and performance with liturgical-religious elements. One of the key fundamentals of Orgies Mysteries Theatre are the mystery feasts of antiquity, which enacted a purifying catharsis - a pivotal concept that continues to significantly influence the artist’s work today. Hermann Nitsch remains one of the most controversial contemporary artists. His work provokes protest and antagonism and continues to polarise opinion.