The Chemnitz theater celebrates the premiere of this year’s family play with Michael Ende’s “The satanarchaeological lie-characteristic wish punch”.
“But they bowed for quite a long time,” said the child when the applause finally died down and the lights in the auditorium went on again. “The” are the actors and the artistic management team, who have just presented a brilliant premiere of “Der satanarchäolügenalkohöllische Wunschpunsch” on the stage of the Chemnitz Spinnbau.
Michael Ende’s “Wunschpunsch” is considered a classic of modern children’s literature. Published in 1989, the author’s last completed novel, the material conquered theaters and puppet stages at lightning speed, there are radio plays and cartoon adaptations, and if media reports are to be believed, a feature film production is currently in the works. Everything that accounts for the success of the “Wunschpunsch” is already in its title: It’s ingenious, anarchic, sometimes a bit evil and definitely alcohol-soaked, which has a lot of comic potential. It is also raised in the staging of the Chemnitz drama, for which director Maik Priebe is responsible.
We write the New Year’s Eve of an undisclosed year. The magician Prof. Dr. Beelzebub Irrwitzer receives an unpleasant visitor in his laboratory: Maledictus Made, Satan’s bailiff, reminds Irrwitzer that he has not yet accomplished all the evil deeds he has committed himself to in a contract with the devil: pollute five rivers, perish 10,000 trees exterminate ten animal species – the annual target is far from being met and there are only five hours left. Irrwitzer is to be personally seized as a punishment – at midnight. But instead of being able to turn to the fulfillment of his tasks, another visit is announced: Aunt Tyrannja Vamperl, who sponsors Irrwitzer’s laboratory work and regularly benefits from it, is approaching and not only wants to steal valuable time, but also wants to acquire a mysterious recipe: the des satanarchaeoligenichellish wish punch. It takes a few minutes before the two realize that they should pull together: the aunt is also facing seizure; the punch that turns every wish into its opposite might solve their problems too. And so we brew together and end up putting together a wish list that would do any climate summit the greatest honor in terms of emphasis and scope.
The magical protagonists are joined by an animal counterpart: the tomcat Maurizio di Mauro and the raven Jakob Krakel. They are sent by the High Council of Animals to observe the magicians. But now they are faced with an enormous challenge: it is not enough to simply inform the council that madmen and vamperl are planning nothing other than the destruction of nature. Time is so short that they have to come up with a counter-plan themselves, for which they are dependent on the help of Saint Sylvester. A race against time begins.
Director Maik Priebe needs five performers in a great mood for the fast-paced play. He found her in Christian Ruth, Susanne Stein, Clemens Kersten, Lisanne Hirzel and Marko Bullack. Ruth is a magician whose failure is not due to his ill will, “there is enough of it,” as he puts it. And yet he is a man of science who would panic with a gun to his chest. Susanne Stein plays the underhand game of Tyrannja Wamperl. It’s amazing how the desired punch meanders through your body and sets every (yes, really every) muscle in motion. Lisanne Hirzel portrays a raven Jakob who, because of the magnitude of the task ahead of him, would like to flee back into the nest of one or the other raven lady – but pulls himself together and is rewarded with healthy limbs and full plumage in the end. Clemens Kersten as the tomcat Maurizio has to fight against laziness and the body weight intended for him: the suppleness of the cat, as becomes clear in some gymnastics exercises, he has long since lost – and on top of that his singing voice. Marko Bullack contributes to the successful game in two supporting roles that could hardly be more opposite, as the bailiff Made and as the saint Silvester. And the human actors find a sixth player: a stage set by Susanne Maier-Staufen, especially in the laboratory, with great attention to detail, for example with cuckoo clocks that call Au-Au, with shelves that shake individually and also a few bang effects.
So the long applause at the end of the premiere is well deserved. One could accuse the piece of something: the naivety of the late 1980s, for example, who believed that saving a few central European rivers and forests would do enough for the climate. Blaming evil forces for the state of the environment instead of emphasizing the responsibility that each individual bears. And that therefore the rescue of the world can be left to nature itself. All of this is not commented on by Maik Priebe’s production, instead the program notes that the topic is “more topical than ever”. However, this hardly detracts from the enjoyment of the play, which will be performed almost three dozen times until New Year’s Eve.