Wi sünd de Ne’en / Wir sind die Neuen

By Ralf Westhoff
Low German by Kerstin Stölting

Thirty-five years ago, Anne, Johannes, and Eddi lived in a shared apartment. Now, having just reached retirement age, the three have decided to revive their old living arrangement: Anne, an idealistic biologist, never made any money from her work with barn owls. Johannes, a lawyer, fought for clients who couldn’t afford legal representation. Eddi’s turbulent love life left him with no savings. So they move in next door to Barbara, Thorsten, and Katharina. The three ambitious students are anything but thrilled with the sprightly retirees, who party and argue loudly just like in the old days. The seniors, for their part, are extremely irritated by the conformist younger generation, who place great value on quiet for studying and regular stair cleaning. Only when the young people, overwhelmed by the pressure to perform and relationship stress, despair of everyday life, can the older generation build a bridge.
Ralf Westhoff’s film “Wir sind die Neuen” was a huge hit in theaters in 2014. The sharp dialogue, situations, and characters make this comedy about the “clash” of generations an extremely entertaining piece of theater.