The Thief Lord – see Venice and come alive
Prosper (Cedric Eich, 2nd from left) and Bo (Jonas Bonham Neubauer (5th from left) with members of the gang of the Thief Lord
Source: Deutsches Schauspielhaus/Thomas Aurin; Thomas Aurin
After the death of their mother, an aunt wants to separate the brothers Prosper and Bo. They flee to Venice and meet the Thief Lord there. The Deutsches Schauspielhaus staged the play based on the novel by Cornelia Funke with bold verve.
Prosper (Cedric Eich) and his little brother Bo (Jonas Bonham Neubauer) are on the run. Her mother has died and her aunt Esther (Jonas Hien in a rock role) only wants to adopt Bo together with her husband Max (Markus John), who also hates children. Prosper should go to the orphanage.
So the boys decide to flee, which leads through a few full rows of spectators to the stage in the theater. There lies Venice. This is confirmed immediately: water splashes up under the shoes when the brothers arrive and take their first steps. Most of the stage is under water.
A large part of the stage is under water in the production (stage designer: Robert Schweer)
Source: Deutsches Schauspielhaus/Thomas Aurin; Thomas Aurin
The lagoon city is the scene of the novel “The Thief Lord” by Cornelia Funke, which has been told since its premiere on Sunday as a play for children, young people and families, in short as a Christmas fairy tale, in the Deutsches Schauspielhaus. Together with a playful ensemble, director Markus Bothe conjures up an exciting and fun adventure on the stage, which this time – Venice pars pro toto – means the world doomed.
But while Funke insistently evokes the magical atmosphere of the city of bridges, a tourist guide (Kollja Schumann) appears from time to time in the theater, evoking the downfall of the city and the downfall of the world and pedagogically pointing out that it is now important to close them together rescue. Oh well. He’s right, but theatrical appeals like this remain questionable, as they don’t make the play any better.
Everything else. Stage designer Robert Schweer has built a magnificent, large-scale net above the water, i.e. in the sky of the stage, which can be lowered and climbed using rope ladders. Up here, the gang of the Thief Lord lives in a dilapidated, long-closed theater, which is clearly visible.
Wespe (Julika Frieß), Riccio (Lasse Stradelmann) and Mosca (Eileen von Hoyningen Huene) follow their patron and role model Scipio, the alleged master thief (Joey Nashaa Scholl), until they expose him as a fraud. Detective Getz (Yorck Dippe) hunts Prosper and Bo on behalf of aunt and uncle until he finally investigates on his own account. And the water surface is played extensively: up to a grandiose chase with gondola, rubber dinghy and surfboard.
Then, as befits a fairy tale, fate takes a turn for the better
Eventually, the Thief Lord receives a Conte’s order to steal something from the house of Ida Spavento (Sasha Rau), an item with magical powers that will more or less change the lives of everyone involved in the story – and also the relationship of the Thief Lord to his gang. And the fate of Bo and Prosper also turns for the better, as befits a fairy tale.
The ensemble is completed by Aaron Brömmelhaup as the young Conte and stage manager Olaf Rausch, who occasionally likes to shine with smaller theatrical interludes, this time as a passer-by, policeman and nun. Three lively musicians (Christian Gerber, Sönke Rust, Matthias Trippner) underline the adventure disguised as gondoliers and accompany the lively songs of the evening, without which family plays are difficult to imagine.
A highly recommended piece
It is a great pleasure to watch Markus John in this theatrical spectacle, who plays three other leading roles alongside Max, who hamburgers violently and makes no secret of his aversion to children. Each one is completely different and John can use his skills in all directions.
In addition to the goofy, malicious Max, he plays Scipio’s strict father, the ancient Conte, and finally also plays Scipio, the Thief Lord, as an adult. In addition to the nasty Aunt Esther, Jonas Hien also plays the fence Barbarossa and is hilarious in both roles.
Yorck Dippe, on the other hand, disguises himself as a detective and proves to be extremely versatile. Sasha Rau is allowed to contribute the most surprising turn of the action in the evening, which is not exactly lacking in pivotal points, when she calls out: “Stop: it’s faster this way”, whereupon everyone trots in a different direction.
Markus Bothe and Ralf Fiedler have built a strong piece of theater from Funke’s novel, cleverly shortened it and staged it in one bold sweep. The Schauspielhaus recommends the play, which is highly recommended for ages 9 and up. The piece has no break and lasts an hour and a quarter.