The Stalburg Theater: With John Wayne into the New Season

After the summer break, the Stalburg Theater offers quite a few revivals of popular plays like "Arsen und Spitzenhäubchen", "Rapunzel Report" or "Wer kocht, schiesst nicht". But there is also a very special premiere on the program. Lutz Keßler, who has already directed "Gut gegen Nordwind" here - another revival this season - has written the comedy "John Wayne was never in Offenbach" especially for the Stalburg Theater. True to the theater's credo of providing good entertainment but no cheap thigh-slappers, the new play offers plenty of humor but deals with thoroughly serious issues. These are served, however, pleasantly light, so that the visitor does not have to be ashamed of his laughs. In the center of the "modern Western" is John Wayne fan Hans-Jürgen (Thomas Rausch), who leads a contented single life in his old apartment in Frankfurt Nordend. But then an online auction held at his workplace becomes his undoing. The Hessische Rundfunk, for which he worked as an online editor, terminates his employment without notice. As if that wasn't enough, the bailiff (Undine Schmiedl) from the local court in Hünfeld suddenly shows up at his door to collect 800 euros, for which Hans-Jürgen has bought an obviously fake medal at auction. And then he also learns that his apartment is to be luxuriously renovated. No job, the prospect of an exorbitant rent increase he won't be able to afford and the bailiff - how is he supposed to get out of this mess? That really only leaves the question: what would John Wayne have done.

Photo: Stephan Morgenstern

Keßler touches on many topics in his play, commenting on them with sometimes very biting sarcasm, but at times also with subtly cryptic humor. In the foreground, however, is the desperate attempt of a man not to lose everything that is important to him in life. What plan he comes up with to avoid falling into the precariat will not be revealed at this point, of course. Only this much: not only the bailiff, who has always dreamed of a completely different life, but also the daughter of his former boss, played by Iris Reinhardt-Hassenzahl, takes a big place in it. Which brings us to the great strength of the play: The cast! The three Stalburg professionals Undine Schmiedel ("Gut gegen Nordwind"), Thomas Rausch ("Familie Hesselbach", "Arsen und Spitzenhäubchen") and Iris Reinhardt-Hassenzahl ("Sex. Oder so") harmonize perfectly with each other, precisely because their characters are so completely different. When the nervous Western nerd, the frustrated but slowly thawing bailiff and the delightfully over-the-top luxury brat with her hipster anglicisms meet, the good interplay between the three actors makes for some genuinely funny moments. Although all three characters are obviously dysfunctional on different levels, you quickly take them to your heart as an audience member and you wish for them that everything will turn out alright in the end. Whether this actually succeeds, you will find out from now on in the Stalburg Theater. With minimal funding but maximum commitment, the small theater in Frankfurt's Nordend has so far managed to survive in the city's highly competitive cultural scene. It was always important to the makers of the theatre to pay their guests high quality at fair prices, and to pay their artists reasonable wages above the minimum wage level. Despite an average occupancy rate of 85%, which many other theatres can only dream of, the Stalburg Theatre is now actually on the brink of closure due to constantly rising costs. So that it does not come to it, the promotion would have to be raised a little. But also every guest who loves the small theatres in Frankfurt can support the preservation of this theatre with his visit. And in the really versatile program that the Stalburg Theater has to offer again this season, there really should be something for everyone. So, study the schedule right away and then secure tickets for "John Wayne was never in Offenbach" or one of the other plays.

You can find the game schedule here: www.stalburg.de You can find more info about "John Wayne was never in Offenbach" and the play's seasons HERE