Anja Kling plays the mother of the separated GDR twins in “Der Palast” – a special task for her as a “contemporary witness”, as she finds.
In the three-part series “Der Palast” (3rd, 4th and 5th January, 8:15 pm, ZDF), a German-German family story is told in front of the glamorous backdrop of Berlin’s Friedrichstadt-Palast in 1988/89. The GDR solo dancer Chris Steffen (Svenja Jung, 28) suddenly faces her previously unknown twin sister Marlene Wenninger (Svenja Jung) from West Germany. Both try to discover the family secret, which led to their separation shortly before the Wall was built in 1961 …
The actress Anja Kling (51), born in the former GDR, plays the mother of the twins. In an interview with spot on news, she explains why she feels responsible in a certain way to act in films, series or multi-part series that are based in the GDR. Among other things, she also reveals which Western musician she was particularly enthusiastic about.
What particularly attracted you to the three-part series “The Palace”?
Anja Kling: It’s an exciting journey through time to a country where I once lived, where I grew up. The three-part series interested me in terms of content and topic.
Have you ever been to the Friedrichstadt-Palast before filming?
Kling: Of course I’ve already been there. In 1986/87 I was a student at the State Ballet School in Berlin. That was in the deepest GDR times. During this time, the teachers gave me the tip to direct my attention to the subjects jazz and modern, because they believed that after my apprenticeship I might be able to send me to the Friedrichstadt-Palast.
Did you do that then?
Kling: I finally dropped out of dance training because I saw myself more with pointe shoes and a tutu than with feathers, a headdress and high heels. Nevertheless, I knew my way around the dancer scene very well at this time. Also because my husband at the time, with whom I had two children, was a dancer at the State Opera. I went to almost every Friedrichstadt-Palast performance with our children because, as a spectator, I am really a big fan of the revue.
Would you say that the three-part series “The Palace” gives you a really good look behind the scenes? Does what is shown there meet reality?
Kling: Yes, it definitely does. The revues in our film are really well captured with the camera. Plus the fabulous music. And I admit that I have great respect for my colleague Svenja Jung, who not only played my two film daughters, but also danced herself. I think only a few scenes had to be doubled. That’s a great achievement, chapeau and applause!
A “double Lottchen” story is told in the “palace”. Why is this material so fascinating that it is made into films again and again?
Kling: I think that it is a basic longing of many people to find a twin who looks just like you and with whom you can then swap roles and so immerse yourself in a different life. I’ve always wished for a twin that I met surprisingly. In the “palace” there is also the historical background against which the story takes place. Our twins live in different countries and political systems and therefore grew up with very different values. With this in mind, swapping roles is of course even more exciting.
Have you ever played a dual role? And if so, is that a particularly difficult discipline for actors and actresses?
Kling: I played in a new version of “Hansel and Gretel” and was the wicked witch and her good twin sister. Playing a dual role is definitely a special challenge and a special privilege. It’s great when you can create two figures at once with one body and one face. Because that’s exactly what we like to do as actors.
Do you actually like to act in films, series or multi-parts that are based in the GDR?
Kling: If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t do it. But it’s also not the case that I only want scripts that are about the GDR. I often get offers for roles like this, I’ll admit that. Certainly also because I’ve become something of a contemporary witness.
I found it particularly exciting this time that my mother and father in the film are also GDR actors with whom I have worked before. With Ursula Werner (78), who plays my mother, I made my very first movie “Green Wedding” (1989) at the age of 17 and she also played my mother there. I was a little girl back then and she was already a great film and theater actress, whom I admired very much. After that we had nothing to do with each other for over 35 years until we were back in front of the camera as mother and daughter. For me it was a revelation and a really great meeting. The fact that Ursula Werner, Herman Beyer (78) and I really come from the East, I think, was good because we were able to draw on our experience.
Has your attitude changed? Perhaps you weren’t so keen on such films at the beginning and then more and more, or vice versa?
Kling: Yes, yes, yes, I’ve always wanted to see films like this. I received most of my prizes for the multi-part series “Wir sind das Volk” (2008). I believe that this is partly because I already feel a kind of responsibility for this country in which I grew up, but what has failed in its way of leading and exercising socialism – and that is also correct so.
I definitely don’t want to go back for a day and I am glad that the wall is no longer there. However, many things are often misrepresented. Quite a few people who did not live in the immediate vicinity of Berlin thought that at Easter everyone was in silence and with the Stasi. And that everyone who was with the Stasi was also a bad person and so on. In this context I feel a certain responsibility to do away with such prejudices and generalizations.
In the “palace” in the east of David Bowie, the Rolling Stones and Nenas “99 balloons” are dreamed of. Were there any musicians or a band from the west that you found particularly interesting?
Kling: I was also a Nena fan. But I think I was the biggest Udo Lindenberg fan there was in the mid-1980s. He often sang about the East in his songs, which is why I always felt very addressed. I was sure that by “Mädchen aus Ostberlin” (1973) he could only mean me. By the way, I’m still a Udo Lindenberg fan.
“The palace” really makes you want to theater, revue and other cultural performances – especially now in times of Corona …
Kling: I would say that the film would have evoked the same desire even without Corona. The people are now of course particularly starved and want to go to revues, theater, cinema and other events. I can understand that completely and I hope for the event industry that everyone involved can recover.
So many existences were ruined during this time. We film actors are really privileged because we have to work under difficult conditions, but at least we are allowed to work. A lot of actors who aren’t in front of the camera, or other people in the event industry, don’t. So I hope that things will really start again soon …