The Munich Volkstheater is going into the summer break - and wants to start the new season on July 24th. Director Christian Stückl makes it clear: "We don't want short-time work - we want to play."
No, Christian Stückl does not want to accept the accusation that there is a broadcast break in Munich's Volkstheater. And since Wednesday morning at the latest it has been clear how wrong this criticism is. The director used the Corona mandatory break to work with his team on a plan for the urban stage. And this plan is: “We don't want short-time work - we want to play. So we have to develop a program for this situation. "
The Volkstheater is now in the season break
The 58-year-old has now presented the ideas of his house - and they are tough, because they are creative, flexible and considerate of health: Stückl does summer theater. For this purpose, the Volkstheater is already in the season break - and wants to start the new season on July 24, about two months earlier than usual.
The press conference, at which Prime Minister Markus Söder spoke the unmasking sentence “Very little about culture” is not 24 hours ago, since Stückl in the foyer of his theater on Brienner Strasse makes it clear that it has to be done differently: “It's a terrible one State to wait, to wait, to wait. I couldn't stand it any longer. ”Continuing to do a program online like many other houses is not for him. “I find it exciting what many colleagues do on the Internet. But that's not my stage. ”So other ideas were needed. Because: "If I have to wait until autumn, my emergency unit will blow."
Five productions suitable for corona are prepared
At the same time, Stückl wants to avoid a "quick shot". The Volkstheater will therefore remain closed until June 14; the break is to be used to finalize the hygiene and protection concept for rehearsal and demonstration operations with the authorities. You could try again on June 15th. Five productions are planned for the new season, which allow a flexible schedule. These “corona-compatible” evenings are developed with the ensemble; Mirjam Loibl, Sapir Heller, Simon Solberg (he is setting up Josef Haders "India"), Abdullah Kenan Karaca and the host himself will be the stage directors. The two directors are to celebrate the premiere. What pieces they are working on is currently being discussed.
The season in the Volkstheater should start on July 24th
The season is scheduled to start on July 24th. "When everyone has time, at the beginning of the summer vacation, we want to be back," says Stückl. The special feature: the director will build a stage in the inner courtyard, which the Meschugge restaurant has so far partially used as a counter. Up to 50 people could sit here in compliance with the distance rules. The large hall, which has so far accommodated around 600 guests, will also be converted for the new season: every second row of chairs will be removed, leaving three free seats between each spectator. "We'd rather play in front of 100 people than not play at all."
Short productions are planned, 60 to 90 minutes long, so that they can be staged without a break. This reduces contact possibilities within the audience - maybe two performances per day are then possible. The theater people are also thinking about a children's program (such as drawing courses with cartoonists); the “twilight drink” on the open-air stage is intended to support musicians who, like many other freelance artists, are suffering financially from the current situation. All of this is possible because the employees of the Volkstheater are moving in - the director thanked them several times this morning. But Stückl also talks to his artistic colleagues in his conscience: “We in the city and state theaters are in a secure position. But that shouldn't lead us to do nothing. "
"I don't want to be hushed up," says Christian Stückl
Everything is still just an idea, he admits. "We are dependent on politics letting us play." He has already convinced one: Anton Biebl. "We no longer want to drive on sight, but instead offer flexible solutions as to what a theater offer can look like in these times," says Munich's culture officer and also thanks the employees, "who are getting involved in this experiment". It is striking how little the political enterprise currently thinks about art and culture. This also annoys Christian Stückl. “I don't want to be hushed up. That will not do. Perhaps culture does not have the same lobby as football, the Catholic or Protestant church. But I don't let myself be put on dry ice. I want to steam myself. ”Luckily. Because the potential for this is from there.