The fixed trigger reveals the forgery. Otherwise, the wooden gun that Bernd Wengert is trying to shoulder in the society building of the forensic Kbo-Isar-Amper-Klinikum looks deceptively real. In any case, Wengert is happy: “The carpentry shop here builds the rifle and the locksmith shop makes the barrel. With all the trimmings, that’s incredible.”
The director commissioned a total of six replica rifles from the clinic’s occupational therapy workshops. They will be used on Thursday evening when Wengert’s newly staged play “Der Hauptmann von Köpenick” celebrates its premiere. Wengert chose Carl Zuckmayer’s classic play primarily because he initially assumed that it would only feature male roles – perfectly suited to the exclusively male patients at the clinic in Haar. It was only later that he noticed the four women’s roles, which are now being taken over by employees: a total of seven employees and over 20 forensic psychiatric patients will be seen on the stage. The latter are people who are initially in inpatient treatment for an indefinite period after they have committed a criminal offense and have been classified by the court as having reduced or no criminal responsibility.
Seven weeks of hard rehearsal work
Why they ended up there is irrelevant to Wengert. “I’m not interested in the files they have here. I’m interested in how they work on stage,” he says. The actor and director is working with forensic psychiatry for the tenth time. Almost every year he rehearses a new piece for around seven weeks with a group of patients. During this time, the ensemble rehearses almost every day, which means that the clinical and therapeutic everyday life of the performers gets mixed up. The clinic staff are trying to plan flexibly during this time in order to make the theater project as possible as possible.
The high workload is also challenging for the patients, says Wengert: “You have to shoulder something. It’s real work, with all seriousness and professionalism.” Wengert is not a theater teacher, for him the therapeutic added value is less important than the artistic end result. In terms of methodology, his work with the group differs little from other productions, he says: “I work just as seriously, and that comes back. I don’t betray anyone here.”
Despite this – or precisely because of this – the project is very popular among the clinic staff. One of them is the psychologist Susanne Hecht, who will be on stage for the first time this year and sees great therapeutic potential in the project. Away from the stage, she works in the clinic’s outpatient clinic. In everyday life, it’s sometimes not easy to calm down patients with concentration problems, she says: “But when Bernd says: ‘Stand at attention, you’re a Prussian officer’, then that has a completely different effect.”
Shortly before the premiere, the pressure in the ensemble increases, and the group is currently preparing for their first performance with great concentration. In addition to their acting performance, this year’s group is particularly tenacious, says Wengert: “There really are talents, but their willingness to push through is much more important.” This should be rewarded by Thursday at the latest, when the already fully booked premiere promises great things.
“Der Hauptmann von Köpenick”, March 30th and 31st, 6 p.m., society building of the Kbo-Isar-Amper-Klinikum, reservations on Tel. 0152 2269 3622. Next performance on May 9th, 7 p.m., Small Theater, Casinostraße 75, Haar, tickets on tel. 089 890 569 811.