This study centers on the plays written by Heiner Müller (19291995) in the late 70s and early 80s and their stage productions. By means of explicit reference to the history of drama and the act of theatrical representation, Müller reveals the theatre situation as a model which in a metaphorical form underlies Western techniques of representation and thought patterns in general. In so doing he at the same time makes that situation transparent. By actively interfering with accustomed mechanisms of perception, Müller's texts are also an appeal to submit traditional structures of theatrical communication to critical review.