Theater Association Markt Schwaben plays “The First Name” – Ebersberg

Can you name your child “Adolphe”? In the play “Der Vorname” by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patellière, this question triggers a bitter dispute between two couples and an artist friend who actually only wanted to meet for dinner. Above all, the linguist among them sees a red line crossed, resists all arguments – and recognizes without a doubt on the ultrasound photo: “He’s already doing the Hitler salute!”

Soon there will be sharp missiles, charged to bursting with self-righteousness

It is a bitter social satire that premiered at the Theaterverein Markt Schwaben on Friday evening. Small jokes and ironic remarks, which initially fly back and forth between the participants like rubber balls, quickly become sharp projectiles, charged to bursting with self-righteousness and with the intention of hurting. Soon it’s not just about first names, but also about surnames, about career prospects, about missed opportunities – and about things that were previously hidden under the cloak of friendship. The differentiated characters that you sometimes agree with, sometimes disagree with, turn out to be exciting, depending on how much of yourself you recognize in their statements.

Michael Siegert in the role of Pierre, the linguist, gives the classic “Gscheithaferl”, unswervingly filled with knowledge, but at times completely lost in its practical application. Julia Mehltretter as his wife Elisabeth seems to completely absorb the role of the peace-making hostess, a little wallflower without a blue helmet, until her in a seething monologue – quelle tempérament! – the lid goes up. As a sharp-tongued mocker, Andreas Eisenkötter dominates the events with his pro-Adolphe appearance until his pregnant wife appears in the second act and tears the thin skin over his inflated ego. Isabella Speckmaier develops her role within a few dialogues from the previously abstract status of “absent pregnant woman” into such a convincing “woman who has something to say” that it is a real pleasure to watch her do it.

Thanks to charming blurring, the reference to the first person is easier to create

Finally, Ferdinand Maurer, as a childhood friend of Claude and trombonist, initially only responsible for subtle gags and the typical presence of a fifth wheel on the wagon, finally falls – misunderstood by everyone – in the middle of the second act to throw this wagon off the track at full speed bring and shatter the fabric of preconceived notions. One could sometimes wish for more courage on the part of the protagonists given the coherent and selective development of the characters; but perhaps the charm lies precisely in this lack of focus, because it makes it easier to relate to the first person and the responsibility is not passed on to those who are absent – “just like Uncle Karl-Peter at Christmas!”

Open detailed view

The piece is already twelve years old, the film is only slightly younger. Nevertheless: Without the term “social media” ever being mentioned, this Markt Schwaben production is very close to the behavior patterns visible there – thanks to a convincing and clever work by director (Sabine Bogenrieder) and ensemble. Picking up short, quick messages, for example, snapping at key terms supposedly to quench the thirst for information: you can tell from the five on stage how aware they are of the parallels between their fictional portrayal and real life.

The stage is a monitor, but it presents itself as inexperienced as a living room

The discussion about a socially acceptable or unacceptable first name comes at just the right time: escalation for the sake of escalation, a quick attack against the “is-yes-typical-again” opponent, the tearing out of individual words from sentences and thoughts leads to a “torment you me, I torment you”. Not a really new or even innovative principle of human communication, but in the frequency and density of the back and forth in the digital potentiated to the point of intolerability – because nobody, honest skin or stupid talker, careerist or soft-spoken, educated citizen or proletarian is immune to the To clean up, because he imagines himself on the side of the good, informed and others on the side of the misguided, bad. None of this remains in a protected space: the stage at Burgerfeld is the monitor on the smartphone, but it presents itself as inexperienced as a living room.

“Adolphe” or “Adolf”: “The first name” is a cipher for “the prejudice”, mercilessly declined by the ensemble of the theater association, embedded in such an insanely staid stage design that you want to scream with delight. Nevertheless, in the end, some viewers only have the strength for a spirited and approving final applause. The imbalance between the two acts may have contributed to this: the satirically relaxed first is followed by the aggressively stressful second, and a good bit longer at that. This does not harm the dramaturgical power, on the contrary. After all, the audience shifts from the comfortable, passive observer role to the uncomfortable position of realizing how much of what is happening on stage is deeply rooted in oneself, in family, friends and colleagues. The desire to go outside, to breathe fresh air, is therefore understandable. However, he speaks emphatically for the acting skills of the ensemble. A cleverly chosen piece, well cast, coherently staged and surprisingly stirring.

Theater association Markt Schwaben: “Der Vorname”, further performances on Friday/Saturday, April 8th and 9th, in the Theater am Burgerfeld, Münterstraße 5. Advance ticket sales in the advance booking office or at www.theater-marktschwaben.de.