Florian Bille is the tenth generation to run a marionette theater that still creates fairytale illusions even in the days of Netflix. Whether his children can continue the family tradition depends on a fixed venue.
Florian Bille stands in an unadorned community center in Unterschleißheim and tears off tickets. It’s just before 3 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon in December, and the performance is about to begin. Bille is in her early 30s, tall and slim, with fine, narrow features and thin blonde hair combed back. Next to him is a simple stainless steel cash register, opposite drinks are sold on a discarded cool box that serves as a sales area. Coffee for adults, Capri-Sonne for children. It looks as if a theater company is about to give its first performance. But this appearance is deceptive. Immense.