Repertoire

A small boy on a great journey

A man and a woman desperately want a child, even if it is only as small as a thumb. Their wish comes true, after seven months they have a son who is indeed only the size of a thumb, but very clever and wise. He can sit on the brim of a hat and can steer a cart by whispering in the ear of a horse. He lets his poor father sell him for a lot of gold, knowing full well that his ingenuity will enable him to return home. But before that happens, Tom Thumb disappears into a mouse hole, he chases away thieves, ends up in the stomach of a cow and is even gobbled up by a wolf. However, everything turns out all right in the end.

From a mill to millions

"My daughter can spin straw into gold!" boasts the miller and thereby causes serious problems for her. Greedy for gold, the king believes the miller, and threatens the daughter with death if she does not perform this feat for him. An imp secretly offers to help her. Thereby he not only saves her life but also provides her with wealth and happiness. However she is at risk of losing everything when the imp demands the payment she promised: the baby of the miller’s daughter, who has now become queen. She may only keep her child if she can guess the name of the imp.

The fantastic story of the Nutcracker who defeats the Mouse King

On Christmas Eve, Marie finds a special present under the Christmas tree. A nutcracker that comes to life in the night and protects Marie from the evil seven-headed Mouse King. But no one believes the girl's nocturnal experiences, except for the godfather Drosselmeier, who knows the secret of the Nutcracker and how to redeem him.
Hoffmann's famous, more than 200-year-old fantastic tale about nocturnal adventures, living toys, dramatic fights and a journey into the wondrous realm of dolls is told with ballet music by Peter Tchaikovsky.

The adventures of the famous wooden puppet in the conflict between duty and disposition

The woodcarver Geppetto creates a puppet from a piece of wood – it is to be his son Pinocchio. However Pinocchio does not stay at home with his father, but runs away. Disregarding all warnings and full of curiosity and hunger for life, he hurls himself at the temptations of the wide world. For isn’t it much more exciting to go to the puppet theatre, than to sit around at school? Without knowing the world, Pinocchio becomes a plaything between good and evil. He falls for false promises and becomes entangled in tall tales. After his many adventures, will he finally succeed in becoming a real boy?

The realization of this production is supported by the Sparkassenstiftung Erfurt.

What is better: wealth or reason?

The young charcoal maker Peter Munk is dissatisfied with his badly paid, low esteemed work. He dreams of being rich and respected. Two spirits in the Black Forest could fulfil his wishes. But at what cost? The friendly glass man helps him to gain riches and respect, but without the necessary common sense Peter eventually loses everything. So all he can do is go to the demonic Dutch-Michael. But in return he demands Peter’s heart of flesh and blood. Dutch-Michael exchanges this for a heart of stone and promises Peter: "Neither fear nor fright, neither stupid sympathy nor sorrow can move such a heart". Peter now has to decide what is essential for him in his life …

The realization of this production was supported by the Sparkassenstiftung Erfurt.

Black magic clashes with the power of love

The orphan Krabat gets a job as a miller’s assistant at the mill in Schwarzkollm. Here the master teaches the miller’s trade to him as well as the other apprentices – and additionally they learn the art of black magic. The price of the magic power and living in the mill is high. The mill is under a curse. Sacrifices must be made. At the end of each year one of the boys must die. Krabat decides to stand in the master’s way. But for that he needs the help of a courageous young girl. To save Krabat and to break the curse of the mill, the girl must be prepared to face a life-and-death ordeal.

The realization of this production was supported by the Sparkassenstiftung Erfurt and Ingenieurbüro Susann Schwarzenau.

Performance rights: Verlag für Kindertheater Weitendorf, Hamburg

A journey of exploration to far off places

Thanks to Google maps and photos of the world from outer space, there is nowhere on earth that we cannot picture. Using electronic eyes, we can see almost every island. However, are we really there? Judith Schalansky dedicated her multi-award-winning book to the discovery of the world through maps. She put together reports and stories about faraway islands all over the world, “Islands I have never been to and will never visit”.

In a theatrical journey we travel to twelve of these islands, to far off sites and settings of history and stories. Twelve mini dramas present twelve strange, comical and unusual stories about far-off people and rare animals: a treasure hunter, a bird watcher, a Morna singer, the French emperor Napoleon, a polar explorer, a feminist aviation pioneer, an extinct sea cow.

The realization of this production was supported by Ingenieurbüro Susann Schwarzenau.

Performance rights: Copyright © 2009 by mareverlag, Hamburg

The story of a headstrong woman in search of the truth

A young boy falls from the roof of an apartment building in Copenhagen. For the authorities it is an accident, but for Smilla Jaspersen, a scientist who was friends with the boy, the tracks in the snow tell a different story. Like him, Smilla comes from Greenland and has a special feeling for snow and ice. In her search for the boy's murderer, Miss Smilla is confronted with questions about her identity and her own role within a world that is foreign to her.
Peter Høeg's bestseller tells the gripping story of a headstrong woman in search of the truth in a world where the economic exploitation of nature has long since followed its own laws without regard for losses.

Performing rights: Drei Masken Verlag GmbH München (www.dreimaskenverlag.de)
The novel FRÄULEIN SMILLAS GESPÜR FÜR SCHNEE by Peter Hoeg, translated by Monika Wesemann, has been published by Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich.

The Devil is on the loose in Moscow

Mikhail Bulgakow spent twelve years writing his masterpiece, which could only be published after severe censorship in 1966/67. Since then it has enjoyed cult status far beyond Russia’s borders. The Devil personally appears with his assistants and causes chaos in Stalin’s Moscow of the 1930’s. A talking cat rides a tram, bank notes and people disappear in the variety theatre, the chairman of the literary club is missing. An author writes a story about Pontius Pilate and meets the love of his life, Margarita, who becomes a witch and flies over Moscow. Good and evil, God and the Devil, life and death all clash with each other in this Faustian story.

Performance rights: henschel SCHAUSPIEL Theaterverlag Berlin GmbH