Mathias Richling - Richling #2023

And the traffic light shines in the darkness... At least on stage. Mathias Richling explores the fact that this may be an illusion in reality in his new, highly topical program, in which he linguistically and gesturally lends contour to the members of the post-Merkel government. First and foremost, of course, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, forgettable and unforgettable because of his scandals. As a one-man committee of inquiry, Richling assesses the various failures of politicians such as Karl Lauterbach, Christine Lambrecht and Manuela Schwesig in relation to current crises such as the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate change. Richling has also invited Gerhard Schröder, who explains his deep love for Putin, and Vladimir Putin himself, who underpins his invasion of Ukraine with interestingly cynical arguments. Alice Schwarzer also has them, and good advice for Ukraine. Richling analyzes, caricatures and poeticizes, depending on the facts. His satirical tips also hit the self-proclaimed folk rock'n'roller Andreas Gabalier and Boris Becker, who talks about God and himself. Musical associations run through the evening, culminating in Rolando Villazon's performance, for whom Ludwig van Beethoven sets the metronome beat. Throughout the evening, a demolished traffic light lies across the stage (stage design idea and direction: Günter Verdin). It flashes, could it be that there is still hope?