Kasimir und Karoline

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A folk play by Ödön von Horváth
In German

Kasimir loses his job, but his fiancée Karoline refuses to let this dampen her optimism or her own career ambitions. Their love is promptly put to the test. What gives them stability in times of economic and political crisis? Who or what can they turn to for hope? In his folk plays, Horváth reflects the political on a small scale. He depicts the social divisions of the late Weimar Republic and the plight of white-collar and blue-collar workers whose lives, amid the Great Depression that began in 1929, depend on the few large private companies still offering jobs. With satire yet affection, he portrays their (and our) longing for self-determination and for upward mobility despite the crisis. His characters live life to the fullest, fail spectacularly, and love passionately. Charlotte Sprenger and her team present this classic through a contemporary lens, relocating the play’s setting from the Oktoberfest of the 1930s to the company party of a modern-day technology firm. Against a backdrop of multiple crises, reduced social benefits, and military buildup, AI and robotics are permanently transforming work and life. More and more people seem replaceable, while a handful of globally active tech entrepreneurs amass media power, capital, and personal wealth. How does this affect our interpersonal relationships? Through playful, musical, and visually striking means, the production challenges Horváth’s characters to explore individual courses of action amid the general misery.