Wilhelm Ludwig Topitsch was an electrical engineer, inventor, mayor, pacifist and poet. Already afflicted by tuberculosis at age twenty, he experienced the commotion and privations of the war “exempted from service” and recorded his thoughts at the time.
Barely 100 years later, his grandson, Ensemble member Axel Wandtke discovered his grandfather’s lyrical works in a suitcase. Topitsch gives us sarcastic descriptions of epoch making events ranging from ancient history into the future, providing a running commentary on failures in politics and humanity, and calls God a big moralistic and admonishing critic.
Together with composer Christoph Theusner (the front man of the BAYON music group), Wandtke turns this material into a bittersweet musical evening. Rhyming poems as a subtle, whimsical interpretation of current events and a poetic kind of melancholy bring a humorous and analytical spirit of our recent past back to life.
Meike Boltersdorf, Nadine Dubois, Andreas Frakowiak, Alexander Scheer and Sanna Wandtke take turns as guest interpreters together with the evening’s permanent cast.
With: Bärbel Bolle, Max Hopp, Christoph Theusner and Axel Wandtke
Direction and staging: Axel Wandtke
Musician and composer: Christoph Theusner
Stage adaptation: Katja Timmerberg
With: Bärbel Bolle, Max Hopp, Christoph Theusner and Axel Wandtke
Director: Axel Wandtke
Music: Christoph Theusner
Dramaturgy: Katja Timmerberg
