Anyone who, like Andrea Gronemeyer, grew up with six siblings has been familiar with the phenomenon of disputes from childhood, so to speak: “For me, disputes are an anthroposophical principle and the basis of democracy. I’m surprised when people find irritated that, for example, the traffic light coalition with each other I even expect that from the parties – how else are we supposed to negotiate the conditions of our coexistence?” Says the Schauburg director at the presentation of the coming season – which, yes, exactly, has the motto “dispute”.
Culture consultant Anton Biebl, who at the meeting in the office high up in the Schauburg feels transported back to his youth not only thematically but also spatially (“I went to the Gisela-Gymnasium very close by”), agrees with Gronemeyer. “In a democracy, you only get ahead if you argue.” It’s important to “argue well,” the two agree.
Productions for all age groups convey how this can work, starting with “Drunter und Drüber”, the directorial debut of Schauburg actress Simone Oswald for the very youngest. With “But I want to!” elementary school children enter a play area in which they make the rules themselves – argue with each other, vote and make compromises. However, heroes and heroines like Superwoman, Asterix and Popeye have their problems with the state of peace. The challenge in Michai Geyzen’s production “Superhero’s Last Battle” is what to do with their powers when evil is gone, what is still worth fighting for.
In the reworking of a stage classic – Jan Friedrich’s production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” – the generations then quarrel: the interests of young and old lovers collide, in between the craftsmen discuss their views on art. The Italian parable “Robinson & Crusoe” has been a classic on the stages of Europe since the 1980s – “on a lonely island two hostile protagonists have to learn to understand each other – neither of them can call the shots alone,” says the director. The young Munich film and theater director Kilian Huhnsack is staging it for the Schauburg.
“I’m Vincent and I’m not afraid” is the stage adaptation of Enne Koens’ novel of the same name about being different and surviving in everyday life.
(Photo: Marian Lenhard/Theater Pfütze Nürnberg)
But before the argument can begin, there will be celebrations and a lot of dust will be raised: from July 5th to 11th, the second edition of the Südwind Festival will ensure this, bringing eight exciting productions for young audiences to the Schauburg and the Kammerspiele. The two municipal theaters are taking on the role of hosts this year and are presenting the best of Bavaria, selected from 40 theatrical performances that have been viewed. These include “Let them eat Iphigenie” by Natalie Baudy and David Moser based on Euripides’ “Iphigenie in Aulis” from the Junges Theater Ingolstadt for young people, “I’m Vincent and I’m not afraid” based on the novel by Enne Koens from the Pfütze theater in Nuremberg for an audience aged ten and over, or Fanny Sorgo’s fantastic female pirate play “Käpten Taumel” from the Mainfranken Theater in Würzburg for children of all ages.
The female pirate in “Käpten Taumel” is one of a kind among the horrors of the seven seas: with pearls in her rusty beard and lip gloss made from snail slime.
(Photo: Nik Schölzel/Mainfranken Theater Würzburg)
In addition, there is the international guest performance “A Fun Night Out” in the Kammerspiele, a “whispered musical” by Jetse Batelaan and the Dutch theater Artemis. The director Batelaan has already been awarded the Silver Lion for Theater in Venice, “We can only afford the great production because it then moves on to the Festival Theater der Welt in Frankfurt, with whom we share the costs,” says Gronemeyer. An example of successful cooperation. Another is the permission from the KVR to party in the festival center on the Elisabethmarkt in the evening after the performances.
Südwind-Festival, Wed. 5th to Tue. 11th July, Schauburg and Kammerspiele, program at www.schauburg.net