I have known her voices for over 20 years. In my childhood I listened to the young detectives Tim, Karl, Klößchen and Gaby in front of the tape recorder, how they smashed Mafiakreise, made arsonist and the burglars put the craft. Although I eventually denied it, because it did not come across so cool: "The three question marks" were always too exhausting and exciting for me, but "TKKG" had just the right balance of adventure and relaxation.
With "We solve for them every case, if they want to be anywhere" as a catchy tune I arrive on Saturday night at the theater on Potsdamer Platz. For forty years, "TKKG" are on a criminal hunt, to this anniversary, the radio play spokesman on a live tour in Germany. The premiere of "The Eerie Village" takes place here in Berlin.
Rolf Kalmuczak, who died in 2007, invented "TKKG" and published the novels under his pseudonym Stefan Wolf. Millions of books and recordings have been sold, Kalmuczak's thriller series is one of the most influential youth series in Germany. The tour is probably also an attempt to monetarisieren the cult on: The competition of the "three question marks" about fills with their live radio plays for years halls. Today, "TKKG" is also in recent criticism: Especially the old episodes play with clumsy stereotypes, convey a conservative image of women, celebrate the "karate" self-justice of Tim and speak out against minorities.
So can the evening be more than a nostalgic break where you have to overlook a lot to have fun today?
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At least I feel a slight scratch in the throat first. Despite the cold, I think I can only catch the cold outside, because my mother brought me from the library a lot of fresh "TKKG" cassettes whenever I was ill. That was a few years ago, but the memory of fever and detective stories remains, you can say that cold was more exciting then.
Maybe children are actually taffer today
Most of the "TKKG" fans may have come up with similar memories: children romp wildly in the entrance area, but then look a bit lost in the red armchairs - between the adults, who are perhaps the bigger fans: two sisters from Karlsruhe, the have always heard together in their childhood, the cassettes have been planning their joint visit for months, the older woman has come specially for "TKKG" live from Mannheim. The hall is full.
The new case for "TKKG" starts exactly as it did in the past: on a beautiful summer day. The birds are chirping and the four friends take a bike ride to the lake, where they witness a swimming accident. But the hobby investigators do not believe in the accident theory and pick up the trail in the nearby village.
The story is held together on the stage by the narrator Michael Lott, who has also taken over the direction and at the same time interprets a whimsical policeman from the four-person Kaff. Atmospheric, he is accompanied by the noise maker Almut Schwacke, the nearly two hours (so long were the cassettes never before!) Car doors pop, rumble thunder with the help of a plastic plate and a campfire crackle with bubble wrap.
Two of the four villagers speak Luise Lunow. The quirky old woman, who firmly believes that Satan has bewitched the village, gives her a voice so scary that I would have dreaded it earlier. When I ask an eleven-year-old about the first part of the play if he thinks it's scary, he laughs at me - maybe the kids of today are actually taffer, maybe they just overplay the chill but also just better.
DPA
From left: Manou Lubowski (dumplings), Rhea Harder-Vennewald (Gaby), Sascha Draeger (Tim) and Tobias Diakow (Karl)
And the main characters? Gabys dog Oscar sits on stage as a plush dog, the speakers on four crosstrainer: Sascha Draeger (speaks Tim), Tobias Diakow (Karl), Manou Lubowski (dumplings) and Rhea Harder (Gaby) pedaling. Especially the blond Harder (also known from "GZSZ" or "Berlin, Berlin" - presumably other youth memories of many in the audience) could be the adult version of the animal-loving policewoman's daughter Gaby Glöckner. Diakow, too, has similarities with the wandering lexicon, the clever Karl Vierstein, whose deacon has lent his voice since 2016.
It's different with Draeger, who spoke to Tim when he was called Tarzan. He is "TKKG" spokesman of the first episode, his voice immediately wakes up everything I once loved so much. Similarly, Lubowski, a well-trained man with white sneakers, the externally has nothing in common with the figure of the most chocolate munching Willi Sauerlich, called "dumplings".
In the new case, Dumpling presents itself from its best side and can conquer most of the laughs. Here then maybe something has changed: In the radio plays that I know, he often makes rather stupid comments or reaps these for his strong overweight.
Regardless of the impressive technical implementation with live sounds and the commitment of the speakers, who also sometimes with a slingshot chase through the audience to shoot down an imaginary drone: Maybe "TKKG" have really changed something. Me too: In the past, I denied being a "TKKG" fan. Today I think after the live radio play: Was a pretty nice evening. And that there may simply be things that make intermediate judgments difficult: nougat or marzipan, Berlin or Munich, "TKKG" or three question marks. And I'm just team "TKKG".