The Munich Kammerspiele are no longer on the program of a pensioner from Ostallgäu. The reason why the 74-year-old is avoiding the house on Maximilianstrasse from now on and will never sit in the first or second row in other theaters again has to do with a painful experience in the truest sense of the word. During director Pinar Karabulut’s production “The Leap from the Ivory Tower” at the beginning of June 2022, the senior citizen, who was sitting in row two at the time, was hit by a four-meter-long wooden stick with a diameter of ten centimeters that fell from the stage.
The faux pas happened towards the end of the production. The pensioner suffered a bleeding wound under her right eye. A theater doctor was quickly there to provide first aid. He diagnosed a laceration and swelling on the cheekbone and a hematoma. Since the incident, the 74-year-old has complained about watery eyes and “chronic pain syndrome.” Since the Kammerspiele is a municipal theater, she sued the state capital in the Munich I civil court for pain and suffering and damages in the amount of 9,487.50 euros.
How the wooden stick ended up in the audience was disputed in the hearing on Tuesday before the 47th Civil Chamber. The plaintiff claimed that one of the actors had “thrown” the baton “with full force” against the ramp, i.e. the front edge of the stage, during the performance. Unfortunately, the mime missed it, so the wooden stick hit the audience and hit the plaintiff in the eye.
The lawyer for the city of Munich, however, stated that the actor had wanted to use the pole to suggest that he would jump into the audience like a pole vaulter. Unfortunately, he dropped the baton and it “slid into the audience”. From the pensioner’s lawyer’s point of view, a four-meter-long wooden stick on a theater stage represents a “not insignificant potential risk.” The organizer should have taken precautions against an accident like the one that happened to his client.
A misfortune or “something that could have been foreseen”?
Injuries to spectators caused by a theater performance are not uncommon. The case law includes, for example, the case of a spectator who suffered a blast at a Faust performance as a result of a shot that was fired on stage, explained the presiding judge. As another example, she cited the case of a woman who got her high heels caught in a mat in the theater. According to higher court case law, the organizer must ensure that “no one is injured,” the judge stated.
In the present case, the question arises as to whether it was an accident or “something that could have been foreseen”. In her opinion, the judge said, “we probably should have thought more about” how to prevent a four-meter-long wooden stick from flying into the audience. A corridor might have been created in front of the stage or the first two rows of spectators should have remained free.
The judge finally asked the city’s lawyer and the plaintiff’s representative whether an amicable agreement between the parties would be possible. The representative of the state capital answered the question with yes, but added that it depends on the amount requested. Their settlement offer was 5,000 euros. After a short consultation with her lawyer, the pensioner agreed.