Außer Kontrolle

A comedy by Ray Cooney
Directed by Nils Engelhardt

A State Affair Hanging by a Thread: When the Truth Gets “Out of Control.” What does an honorable minister of state do when his planned romantic escapade with the opposition’s secretary comes to an abrupt—and, above all, lifeless—end?

For Richard Hill, a nightmare begins in a luxurious suite at the Westminster Hotel—one that threatens to drag his political career and his private life into the abyss. Instead of sizzling eroticism, the unlikely couple is in for a real surprise: A supposed burglar is stuck, lifeless, in the suite’s broken sliding window. Calling the police is not an option for the minister—after all, the secretary’s presence would trigger a scandal that no government could survive.

In this moral impasse, Richard’s loyal but chronically overwhelmed secretary, George West, proves to be the last—albeit most unstable—lifeline. George is summarily appointed crisis manager and must henceforth take on roles for which he possesses neither the talent nor the nerves.

What follows is a masterfully constructed escalation: To cover up the dead man—who, moreover, proves to be surprisingly mobile—and the affair, a web of lies is woven that is so complex that the protagonists themselves soon lose track of it all.

 

The Cast

Martin Betz
Eckart Northoff
Joachim Kümmerlehn
Antje Stark
Nils Engelhardt
Sven Mallon
Luca Riegler
Jasmin El-Salib
Britta Lewerenz