The scenery is of the most beautiful Bavarian idyll. A sun-drenched beer garden, a magnificent, traditional inn, and the pretty baroque village church in the vicinity. And then there are the sounds of the zither – the famous theme from “The Third Man”. Wolfgang Ramadan, cultural manager, poet and actor, has invited to the press conference in Siegertsbrunn, in the Franz Inselkammer inn. The 62-year-old, who has been responsible for the “basic cultural supply” in the Oberland for around two decades as a freelance impresario with his series “Brotzeit & Spiele”, is moving as an organizer: from the Ayinger district of Großhelfendorf to Siegertsbrunn, from the “Gasthof Fellner (” Zur Post”), which is no longer an option as an event location due to fire protection regulations, to the Franz Inselkammer inn, which has been run by the landlords Michael Öchsl and Martin Wanke since spring 2022 after a long period of vacancy.
The season will open on Thursday, September 15, with cabaret artist Franziska Wanninger with her program “For me it’s supposed to hail red roses”. The traditional Siegertsbrunn restaurant, which used to host cabaret evenings, has a beautiful, large event hall on the first floor, which is currently being given the finishing touches. “A stage is still being built in and lighting technology is being installed,” says Ramadan. The move was also obvious in that the Ayinger brewery, as a cooperation partner of the organizer Ramadan, is interested in establishing the traditional economy, which is considered the nucleus of the Inselkammer entrepreneurial family, as a cultural attraction. At the moment, however, the signs are not the best, subscription sales tended to be disappointing, not only in the southern district of Munich, but everywhere. “To put it diplomatically, the audience has gotten used to it,” says Ramadan.
The audience decides at short notice
The performances in Großhelfendorf, where the series with Jörg Hube, Dieter Hildebrandt and the Wellkuren started 15 years ago, were almost always sold out. “We also believe that we will soon have higher occupancy rates again. We had a large regular audience in Aying,” explains Gerti Ettenhuber from the brewery. In principle, subscription sales are a thing of the past, hope now rests on single ticket sales – especially since the public is now making decisions at shorter notice. In any case, with Christine Eixenberger (October 8) and Han’s Klaffl (November 19), other audience favorites are making guest appearances in Siegertsbrunn. Then there is Stefan Kröll (December 3), also not a newcomer, but not quite as well known. The Upper Bavarian shows his program “Aufbruch”, which of course could apply as a general maxim for the ailing cabaret and plank art.
Wolfang Ramadan believes that the “start” will take a little longer and paints a gloomy picture for the near future, especially as far as the independent scene is concerned. “All the money that the federal and state governments have invested would be thrown out completely if they didn’t continue to support us. Otherwise, many won’t survive the next two years.” Born in Munich, he is not the first to point out how important the cultural sector is as an economic factor in Germany, how relatively safe venues were even during the pandemic, which hygiene concepts were implemented and how much the lack of staff is having an impact. For all its dramatic coloring, Ramadan is not one that tends towards resignation, but is full of energy and eloquent.
“It’s an absolute restart,” he says combatively. Of course, he also likes to praise the advantages of his series, the combination of culture and cuisine, of cabaret greats and rising stars, transferable tickets and fixed seat reservations. In any case, he should have a good team at hand in Siegertsbrunn, including the cabaret artist Manfred Abholzer and Inge Leisch, who live right around the corner, showed up to the meeting in the inn in traditional costume – and played zither music in the persona of Leisch.
More information is available at https://brotzeitundspiele.de