Ewig Jung - Ein Songdrama von Erik Gedeon

In the organizer's words:

There they sit now. Six ancient former actors on the stage that means the world. The theater they have chosen as their retirement home has long since closed. No magic, no audience, no applause. And yet they continue to live their dream, performing an entertainment program night after night that reminds them of their former stage days and the music of their youth. Their bodies are frail, but their souls and minds are still young. The doddering old men rock through rock and pop history and live out old passions without restraint. A wonderful evening for the elderly, if it weren't for the unspeakable caretaker. The only woman on stage who hasn't even begun to keep an eye on the menopause. Sister Rosa spreads gloom with silly children's songs and silly dances. But this musical is by no means a drama, but a play with biting wit and great songs. Even if the bent bodies and quirks of the ageing actors are no longer quite as fresh as dew, the fire of passion burns in everyone.

Showing the physical and mental decline of old age on stage is a delicate undertaking. Can we laugh at the grotesque contortions of stiffened bodies and mental decline?

We say "yes" as long as the hustle and bustle of the old people on stage is seen by them as completely "normal" and the audience does not remain in the mode of judging "senile" behavior, but can enjoy the irrepressible joie de vivre of old people. Basically, we see children playing on stage. This invites laughter, but also humility and reflection on one's own life. "In my production, I try to find a balance between exuberant slapstick on the one hand and the struggle for dignity on the other. At the same time, however, I also want to show the misguided development of society, that the elderly are deported, incapacitated and given the label 'moronic' and thus denied a full life," says director Volker Heymann, who is bringing the anarchic play to the Capitol stage.

About Volker Heymann
In the 1980s, he toured the Frankfurt cultural scene with the "Komik-Kabinett Brom S11". His work as an actor has taken him to the Badische Landesbühne Bruchsal and the Nationaltheater Mannheim, among others. In 1998 he was awarded the Baden-Württemberg Cabaret Prize. He has been working as a director since the 1990s (Schnawwl, Theater Oliv, TiG7, Theater der Altmark Stendal, Stadttheater Plauen-Zwickau, Weinheimer Spitzklicker, Theater Alte Werkstatt Frankenthal, Theater & Nedelmann Rödermark, t-raum Theater Offenbach). He is an author (Dinner for one - how it all began, texts for Bülent Ceylan, for SketchUp with Christoph Maria Herbst, dialog author for "Verliebt in Berlin" on Sat1) and filmmaker of award-winning short films (2x Prädikat besonders wertvoll, 2x nominated for the German Short Film Award, three films are shown as supporting films in several cinemas throughout Germany).

Total length of the play 2.15 h (incl. intermission)

Ensemble:
Susan Horn
Annette Potempa
Jeannette Friedrich
Markus Weber
Markus Streubel
Matthias Eschli

Musical accompaniment:
Daniel Prandl

Director:
Volker Heymann

Musical direction:
Daniel Prandl

Set design/choreography:
Corinne Kraußer

Make-up:
Daniela Werner
Caecilia Neuweiler

Producer:
Thorsten Riehle

Production assistance:
Sabrina Iannuzzi-Hüttinger

Organizer: Non-profit children's and adult theater Capitol Mannheim UG