Second Season
Germany, Norway
an international comedy by Boys* in Sync based on "The happy Vineyard" by Carl Zuckmayer
direction
Simon David Zeller
text
Boys* in Snyc
What is entertainment? What is a comedy? Can you be politically funny? Or comically unpolitical?
language
in a simple English with German live interpreting
duration
65 min
more about the artist
DER FRÖHLICHE WEINBERG (THE HAPPY VINEYEARD) celebrated its premiere in 1925 – the same year that Adolf Hitler’s hate manifesto MEIN KAMPF was published. In this comedy, playwright Carl Zuckmayer praises German congeniality, but barely mentions the threat of fascism. “Back then, we still believed we could laugh it away from the top of our lungs using the autonomous power of humour – until one day there was nothing left to laugh about”, he said in 1961. In historical terms, the play remained an entertainment hit and is still staged in German theatres with lots of singing and folklore today. And by 1961, the author believed in the humanism of laughter once again, with which “evil can be overcome and dismissed”. 100 years later, the performance group Boys* in Sync, directed by Simon David Zeller, returns to Zuckmayer’s vineyard idyll as an opportunity to think about theatre and the pleasure of laughter. Once again right-wing governments are in power in Europe, once again right-wing politicians have ambitions of taking control of leadership in Germany.
Simon David Zeller, b. 1991, studied Directing at the Danish Theatre Academy in Copenhagen and Applied Theatre Studies at the University of Gießen. He is a founding member of Boys* in Sync, an international performance collective from South Africa, Norway, Germany and Denmark, whose work approaches the theatre canon critically and combines storytelling, drama and contemporary dance with elements of improvisation. Zeller completed his Master’s degree in Gießen with SECOND SEASON.
With Livia Hiselius, Simon David Zeller, Jakob Schnack Krog, Gregers Hansen
Direction Simon David Zeller
Scenography, Music & Costumes Ragni Halle, Simon David Zeller, Jakob Schnack Krog, Gregers Hansen Choreography Rene Alejandro Huari Mateus Photos Maximilian Borchardt, Jakob Schnack Krog (Portrait Simon David Zeller)
In cooperation with the Applied Theatre Studies Programme at Justus-Liebig-Universitat Gießen & Nationaltheater Mannheim With the support from Kulturradet Norway, Hessische Theaterakademie, Theater neben dem Turm Marburg, FFUK Norway & Kulturamt Gießen