Munich Volkstheater: Festival "Radical Young" is back

Created: 04/28/2022Updated: 04/28/2022, 17:12

By: Michael Schleicher

The surprise hit from the Berliner Ensemble is coming to Munich: "It's Britney, Bitch!" by director Lena Brasch and actress Sina Martens tells about the life of pop star Britney Spears.

© JR Berliner Ensemble

After a two-year Corona break, "Radikal Jung" is back at the Munich Volkstheater.

The "Festival for Young Directors" starts on June 24th and shows eleven productions from Kyiv, Athens, Berlin, Düsseldorf, London, Mannheim, Oberhausen, Paris and Munich.

My goodness, it's true: you have to look for the good news in these humble days.

This one is definitely one of them: "Radikal Jung" is back at the Munich Volkstheater.

Corona has condemned the festival for young directors to a forced break in the past two years.

It's over - finally.

To be on the safe side, those responsible have moved the round from April to early summer: From June 24th to July 2nd, those interested can take a look at the theater of tomorrow with eleven productions invited to Munich.

What topics and questions are young directors concerned with?

What handwriting and aesthetics do they use to tell about it?

In addition, "Radikal Jung" is of course always a festival in the literal sense, a celebration of encounters, of togetherness.

Remembering this is more important now than ever.

The festival makers around Volkstheater boss Christian Stückl (right): Jens Hillje (middle) heads the jury for the first time, which also includes Florian Fischer.

© Gabriela Neeb/Munich Volkstheater

However, some things are new: Since the Volkstheater has now moved to Tumblingerstraße, this edition can take place on three stages.

The jury, which viewed around 60 productions, sees itself under its new boss, theater maker Jens Hillje, as a "curatorial team".

Its focus is increasingly on the "supervision" of the directors, not on their assessment.

One wants to add the aspect of the “work festival” to the “public festival”, which “radically young” has always been: artists should meet one another and enter into an exchange with one another.

For example, the audience talks will be replaced by the “Artist Talks” format.

The "Late Night" is also new, with the aim of "leaving the theater in order to return to the theatre", as curator Florian Fischer puts it.

One wants to present theater as a “collegial discipline of nightlife”.

Exactly how this will happen will be revealed in early June.

The Left Bank Theater Kyiv comes from the Ukraine

Ten of the eleven works invited by Hillje, Fischer, the theater critic Christine Wahl and her colleague C. Bernd Sucher are world premieres.

Only Ewelina Marciniak worked on classical drama literature at the Nationaltheater Mannheim.

She comes with Schiller's "Jungfrau von Orleans".

Kicking off “Radikal Jung” is the Left Bank Theater from Kyiv with “Bad Roads.

Six stories about life and war”.

© Spyros Run

The opening is under the impression of world events: The Left Bank Theater from Kyiv opens "Radikal Jung" with "Bad Roads".

The "six stories about life and war" are based on research in Donbass.

The feminist perspective is also strongly represented in the program: Schiller's Johanna is of course included, but also "Civilisation", a work from London by Jaz Woodcock-Stewart, which tells of a woman in a state of emergency - and "It's Britney, Bitch!" the ups and downs of Britney Spears' life.

The solo, which actress Sina Martens developed under the direction of Lena Brasch, is a hit with the audience at the Berliner Ensemble.

Due to the demand there, the production, which was actually conceived for the workshop, was shown for the first time in the big house last night.

Britney Spears evening from the Berliner Ensemble guest

Ultimately, this work is also a celebration of stubbornness, of resilience.

And that's not the worst approach when it comes to restarting a theater festival.

In any case, host and Volkstheater director Christian Stückl said yesterday, loosely based on the hit “Oops!

I did it again" by Spears: "I'm so glad we're doing it again.

Even if I don't know what will come out of it.” But that has always been the strength, the appeal of “Radical Young”.

It only remains for us to happily call out: "Baby, one more time!"