He is something of a wholesaler among cabaret organizers: Wolfgang Ramadan started in 2004 in Icking with the series “Brotzeit & Spiele” and went on an expansion course two years later. He and his team of five now also offer “basic cultural services”, as Ramadan calls it, in Starnberg and Bad Tölz, in Bad Aibling, Isen, Wasserburg and Aying, in Peißenberg, Siegertsbrunn and Weilheim. Before the corona pandemic, the number of subscribers had skyrocketed to more than 3,000. But Covid suddenly slowed down the poet, musician and cultural manager. In the meantime, he is struggling with the decline in viewers. Because the number of his subscribers collapsed by 80 percent. At the start of his program on Saturday with Han’s Klaffl (“Nachschlag! Before I forget it…”) he moves to the Pöckinger Beccult because the Schlossberghalle in Starnberg is being renovated and only allows ten rows of chairs. Of the approximately 400 subscribers in the district town, only around 100 have remained loyal to him. The 62-year-old says: “If there is no Corona funding from the federal government or the state of Bavaria this year, we will no longer exist next year.”
Cabaret artist Han’s Klaffl is a guest at the Pöckinger Beccult on Saturday.
(Photo: organizer/oh)
Snack & Crisis – it’s been like this since 2020. First, the native of Munich was saved by generous subscribers, many of whom would have waived repayment after canceled cabaret evenings or “deferred our tickets”. In 2021, Ramadan was able to stay afloat because there was suddenly Corona funding for his cultural series. Artists such as Helmut Schleich, Luise Kinseher, Wolfgang Krebs, Volker Heissmann, Roland Hefter and above all Bernd Schweinar, head of the Association for Pop Culture in Bavaria, have campaigned for Prime Minister Markus Söder for him and his program. So far he has managed without public money, says the former head of the Garching cultural department for Ramadan, “that’s why we were always under the radar”. And without Schweinar and the pop association “it would have torn us apart”. The Ickinger therefore donated a life-size sculpture made of Bad Heilbrunn spruce wood to the helper in need, which shows Schweinar with a guitar in the shape of the Bavarian state borders. The work of art by the sculptor Nikolaus Sanktjohanser from Schwaigwall near Geretsried is now in Alteglofsheim Castle, the headquarters of the pop association.
A sculpture in gratitude: The sculpture made by Nikolaus Sanktjohanser (right) was unveiled at the concert by Werner Schmidbauer (2nd from left) in Bad Tölz last year. Wolfgang Ramadan (left) gave it to the man who shows the work of art: Bernd Schweinar from the Association for Pop Culture.
(Photo: Dieter Schnöpf/oh)
In 2021 and 2022, Ramadan held two large, corona-compliant open-air events in the Bad Tölz rose garden, and subscribers were able to redeem their free tickets on a total of 41 evenings. But the major events ended miserably. Last year, an average of only 100 visitors came to the open beer tent with a glass roof. According to Ramadan, 23 listeners sat opposite the eight musicians on stage at a concert. When Helmut Schleich played at the end of July, a hurricane blew up. Luise Kinseher performed in mid-August at a fresh 8 degrees. This year the festival was a little smaller, but with a similar result. Only the guest performance by Martina Schwarzmann was sold out.
The fact that “Brotzeit & Spiele” has so far been something of a sure-fire success has to do with the fact that Ramadan relies on the big names in the scene and on artists that almost everyone knows from television. This year, for example, Django Asül and Luise Kinseher are part of the party, Philipp Weber and Helmut Schleich, plus the musicians Axel Zwingenberger, Ami and Wally Warning and Quadro Nuevo. Franziska Wanninger even unwinds a veritable tour of six of the Ramadan venues from Siegertsbrunn to Isen. According to Ramadan, the fact that his concept no longer works “and we’re on a knife edge” has three reasons: First, his target audience is the “high-risk group over 60”, second, many people are weaned “and have Netflix and one at home Projector added”. And thirdly, more and more people are looking at their wallets because life has become expensive.
Franziska Wanninger gives her program “For me it’s supposed to hail red roses” in Pöcking.
(Photo: Martina Bogdahn; private/oh)
Ramadan still hopes he can win back subscribers. As far as the Corona payments by the state of Bavaria are concerned, he is even confident: next year there are state elections – “they won’t be stingy there”. And he has also made a virtue out of every need: he is now appearing again with a new program called “Peace, Joy, Fire Free”. Ramadan, wearing a slouch hat, recites texts from Valentin to Brecht and plays songs by Bob Dylan and Neil Young with his peace guitar, in Bavarian, of course. After all, he has been booked four times for appearances.
Also appearing again: Wolfgang Ramadan with his guitar in the shape of a peace sign, built by a Luthier from Waakirchner.
(Photo: private)
“Brotzeit & Spiele” starts this Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Kulturhaus Beccult with Han’s Klaffel. Also on the Pöckinger schedule: Quadro Nuevo on October 16th, Franziska Wanninger on November 24th and boogie-woogie and blues pianist Axel Zwingenberger on December 10th. Information and tickets at www.brotzeitundspiele.de.