Munich: “Tick Tack” in the Marstall – Munich

Mette lost her best friend Yağmur to her new classmate Sve. The two are now a couple and Mette is somehow in limbo. Because the highly gifted has a cynical view of the world and the people in it, new friendships are difficult for her. She also doesn’t collect enough likes on social media to boost her confidence. Only her suicide attempt, in which she jumped onto the railroad tracks, has her number of followers quintupled. So it suits her very well that she meets Jo, ten years her senior, who shows her how to increase popularity on Tiktok and Co. She studiously ignores Jo’s right-wing populist views.

Julia von Lucadou published her novel “Tick Tack” via the social media generation in 2022. In it, she traces how Mette is becoming increasingly radicalized on the Internet. Daniela Kranz has now adapted “Tick Tack” for the stage at the Residenztheater. It is a work with the youth club “Xtra”. Kranz has already produced the two productions “More Black than Purple” and “Is my microphone on?” released. All three are evenings on relevant topics: dealing with the Nazi past, climate change and now the dangers for a youth driven by likes. Relevance and timeliness are fundamental strengths of the projects.

The other is that Kranz has a lot of confidence in the young people. Like the previous productions, “Tick Tack” is also translated into a theatrical language that doesn’t cut corners just because amateurs are on stage. Once again the director succeeds in an evening that does justice to the claim “Resi for everyone” – the part of the program to which the club “Xtra” belongs. It’s young and cleverly implemented.

In addition, Lisa Käppler has devised a variable stage for the Marstall, partition walls are redistributed here from scene to scene. A subway stop is indicated, a few digital notices are displayed on a billboard, sometimes there is a mattress, a few seats, mobile phones abstracted as props, which very often disappear in the red or purple jogging pants of the ensemble. The young performers can hold on to little. But they don’t need that either.

The main roles are distributed among the ensemble

Kranz has divided the two main roles between several people. Right at the beginning, six actresses introduce themselves as Mette, later four male versions of Jo are added. They speak alternately or in chorus, without the assignment of roles ever becoming a problem. First, Lina Fritzen starts as Mette. She’s got what it takes to play one of those overbearing teenagers whose vanity must have been fueled with anabolic steroids at some point. Mara Babic equips her Yağmur with more social skills, which Angelina Schneider’s Sve falls for – no wonder with her soulful voice.

Hannah Remmel showcases the vulnerable side of Mette, accommodating the increasingly imperious demands of Jo – Remy Berthomme and Julius Burgtorf pull off the menace act brilliantly, aided by the comedic Ahmed El Imam. After all, Aleyna Atasever, Peter Gratz and To Uyen Rose Hoang also help to ensure that “Tick Tack” is not a warning number, but a serious and aesthetic examination of social media.

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