They got married, started families, worked and retired. As they got older, some of them fell into a hole. Then they came to the Berlin senior citizens’ theater “Spätzünder” and realized: old age doesn’t have to be a burden.
They have been preparing for weeks. Now they are standing in a darkened hall on a small stage made of light parquet. Behind them, tinsel glitters in bright colors in the spotlights. The audience nibbles on pretzel sticks and giggles. There is a lot of gray hair, as is the case with the actresses. They wear gray aprons with numbers on them. They jump around and gesticulate wildly with their arms. It is a special day. The five up there are to be auctioned off. “If you don’t want to die,” calls Gabriele, the presenter of the play, “then go into full-time retirement!” “I Will Survive” blares from the speakers.