Theatre

DEUTSCHWALD IM HERBST.

Thomas Mann. DEUTSCHLAND UND DIE DEUTSCHEN / Goethe. FAUST 1

Termine

Friday
03. October 25, 15:00 Uhr
Saturday
04. October 25, 15:00 Uhr
Sunday
05. October 25, 15:00 Uhr
Saturday
11. October 25, 15:00 Uhr
Sunday
12. October 25, 15:00 Uhr
Directions
Produktionshaus NAXOS
Waldschmidtstraße 19
60316 Frankfurt am Main
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150 Years of Thomas Mann

The German Forest in Autumn

The theater leaves its sheltered and healthy spaces and moves into the open—into the forest, the sick one. In Frankfurt’s city forest, there is hardly a tree that is not diseased. The city forest becomes the setting for a production on the themes of 80 years since the end of the war and 35 years of German unity—reflecting on Germany. Thomas Mann did so in 1945, as a newly naturalized American.

The forest is often described as a mirror of German inwardness; Thomas Mann examines this inwardness as the epitome of the Romantic era and shows us how, with the Germans, the devil was always present. Faust and his historical counterpart Martin Luther are his protagonists—Faust, Gretchen, Mephisto will be the cast for our theatrical walk through the forest.

Scenes from Goethe’s Faust accompany the eight stations of Mann’s speech, guiding the audience from hell through the world to heaven. At least, that is the hope the author expresses at the end of his lecture: “It could well be that the liquidation of Nazism has cleared the way for a social reform of the world, one that offers Germany’s innermost nature and needs the greatest opportunities for happiness.”

What Thomas Mann reflected upon in his speech as an American deserves to be heard again. And in this context, and in the (ailing) German forest, the Faust text could not find a more powerful resonance.

The axes in the forest – a true Theater Willy Praml afternoon in the Frankfurt City Forest. Each scene once again original, profound, and also cheerful and free. Two and a half hours that pass in the blink of an eye.
(Judith von Sternburg, Frankfurter Rundschau)

Note: Please dress for the weather.
The forest walk will last 2 ½ hours and cover a distance of approx. 2 kilometers. Folding chairs and rain capes will be provided.

Meeting point
Tram stop Oberschweinstiege.
Box office opens 30 minutes before the performance.

Cooperation partner
City of Neu-Isenburg, Culture at the Hugenottenhalle

With the kind support of
Restaurant Oberschweinstiege

Direction, Text adaptation:
Michael Weber
Stage:
Frankfurt City Forest
Costumes:
Paula Kern
Cast:
Mann: Willy Praml
Faust 1: Birgit Heuser
Faust 2: Reinhold Behling
Gretchen 1: Hannah Bröder
Gretchen 2: Mulawia Harb
Mephisto 1: Anna Staab
Mephisto 2: Jakob Gail
Dauer
2 ½ hours
Eintritt
20 € regular
14 € reduced
9 € pupils and students
7 € Frankfurt Pass

We do not require proof of eligibility for reduced tickets. Please choose the price category that best fits your situation

Supported by
Cultural Office Frankfurt am Main, Cultural Fund Frankfurt RheinMain, Dr. Marschner Foundation, and Naspa Foundation “Initiative and Achievement”