Noises Off! (Der nackte Wahnsinn)

“Everyone does their best.”

It’s said that a magic moment comes into being when theater becomes poignant – but this production doesn’t contain any such moments. Instead, it is about the barriers that can pile up when a theater group prepares for an aesthetically organized premiere, so to speak. These barriers don’t just take the form of jammed doors, reluctant actors, distracting emergency lights, or insufficient financing – but these obstacles are present as well! No, the barriers here relate to the monumental crisis of the human condition – which is always the rule rather than the exception in theater.

Michael Frayn’s brilliant comedy from 1982 tells the story of how the members of a theater group rehearsing a light comedy consistently manage to sabotage each other’s performances and drive each other crazy. This is a situation in which no actor is happy to see another actor perform successfully. The first act of the play interprets theater art as the creation of a world – only to have that world destroyed in the last act. What better place to put on such a play than the RambaZamba Theater? If you’ve ever wondered what can go wrong behind stage in a theater, even as a play is actually being performed, this is definitely the right play for you.

Performing rights issued by HARTMANN & STAUFFACHER GmbH Verlag für Bühne, Film, Funk und Fernsehen, Cologne

"Schon länger nicht sah man die anarchische Kraft der RambaZamba-Crew so lustvoll durchbrechen und dabei auch noch so gekonnt in einem Handlungsbogen gerahmt sein wie bei dieser Inszenierung des Boulevard-Stücks Der nackte Wahnsinn." Tom Mustroph, taz