Hi Freaks: Angela & Nele Winkler

Hi Freaks: Angela & Nele Winkler

A Reading from The Conference of the Animals

Together, film and theatre actress Angela Winkler and her daughter, RZt actress Nele Winkler, read from Erich Kästner’s The Conference of the Animals (1949).

In his first novel published after the Second World War, Kästner tells the story of animals who, worried about a planet destroyed by war and the children living on it, unite in support of world peace. A lion, an elephant, and a giraffe call a conference and proclaim: Animals and children of all countries, unite!

Born in Templin in 1944, Angela Winkler has for decades been one of the most outstanding figures in German-language film and theatre. With her unmistakable stage presence and extraordinary emotional expressiveness, she has shaped numerous major roles, including performances in The Tin Drum, The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, and productions at leading theatres such as Berlin’s Schaubühne and Vienna’s Burgtheater. Her artistic work has received numerous awards.

Born in Almería in 1982, Nele Winkler has developed an independent artistic profile while also continuing the long acting tradition of her mother. Since 1996, she has been a member of the RZt ensemble, where she most recently appeared in To Be or Not To Be by Klaus Pohl and IT WORKS! by Leander Haußmann. In 2026, Angela and Nele Winkler will appear together in director Volker Schlöndorff’s film adaptation of the novel Heimsuchung, which will be released in German cinemas.

Hi Freaks is a benefit event series by RZt. For more than 30 years, actors with disabilities have collaborated with renowned guests from the German cultural scene to create wild and exciting theatre experiences. Old and new friends of the theatre are invited to read, perform, or make music together with the ensemble. The proceeds support the theatre’s infrastructure as well as the training of new performers.