Die Nibelungen

Cited controversially as the national epic of the Germans, the Song of the Nibelungs is a monster of a legendary tale. It is all about heroes, power, love and great vendettas. Battles are fought, giants and dragons slain, the search is on to turn the knightly spectacle into a great myth – which inevitably ends in catastrophe. The archaic, compulsive patterns of humans are revealed. Reason, enlightenment and empathy seem to be completely lost, leading to despair.

Actor Jonas Sippel bravely embarks on a theatrical journey through this legend that unavoidably confronts us with the horrors of the past and the present. If you ask Jonas what The Nibelungs is all about for him, he says: “It is about human dignity. I want to show that people with trisomy 21 or other disabilities can also be like animals or monsters. They can be as evil as criminals. There are no bad guys in the theatre who are disabled. I think that’s a shame. The fact that we also have a bad behavior is what makes us human! The most important scenes are the fight and love scenes. The play should be action-packed. Everyone carries swords. Anyhow, the play begins with a lot of fog and red light.”