Kaufbeuren - Last weekend the new rainbow-colored season of the Kulturwerkstatt was opened with the motto "Feel real". This happened coherently with “A kangaroo like you!” By Ulrich Hub. Because that was not only the start of the cultural workshop program, but also the Allgäu Pride Week. Since a few weeks rehearsal time was missing due to an actor's accident, Thomas Garmatsch, Uwe Amberger, Jannis Konrad and Klaus Dopfer presented the entertaining and serious family play about diversity without further ado as a colorfully costumed scenic reading.
At the beginning, the two board members of Allgäu Pride eV, Christian Schönmeyer and Lena Weixler, presented the association founded at the end of September 2020 with headquarters in Kaufbeuren and its goals: Even outside of major cities here in the Allgäu, nobody should feel uncomfortable or even uncomfortable because of their sexual preferences have to hide. In addition, the topic of LGBTQIA + (abbreviation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer / Questioning, Intersex, Asexual / Aromantic and all other people who feel they belong to the queer community) should be made more public.
One of the actions to achieve these goals is the Allgäu Pride Week, which will take place in Kaufbeuren for the first time in 2021.
Fears of contact should be reduced and understanding, tolerance and acceptance should be encouraged.
With the support of the cultural office of the city of Kaufbeuren, the federal program “Live Democracy” and “wood & wire event”, the Allgäu Pride association has prepared a varied program for the current festival week (from September 12th to 18th).
The first few days can already be counted as a success: More than 30 people came to the regulars' table on Monday in the “Dicken Hund”.
"Much more than expected", as Pride treasurer Florian Bodendörfer reported happily.
Lively participation
The organizers were also satisfied with the active participation in the panel discussion on Tuesday, and the Pride film evening on Wednesday was already sold out in advance.
tickets available
Tickets are still available for the two open-air events - the "Queergarden" (beer garden) on Friday evening in the Spitalhof and the Pride demo in front of the town hall on Saturday with the Pride Festival in the Spitalhof after 5pm.
A tip from Bodendörfer: "Tickets are cheaper online in advance!"
Alfred Riermeier, head of the Kaufbeurer youth and family department, as the city's representative, found that Kaufbeuren was well on the way to becoming a “cosmopolitan municipality” with the support of Allgäu Pride.
He quoted Victor Hugo: "Nothing is as strong as an idea whose time has come."
"A kangaroo like you!"
The kick-off piece “A kangaroo like you!” Fits perfectly with the club's goals of Allgäu Pride. In his circus parable, Ulrich Hub puts words in the mouths of the little black panther Lucky (Jannis Konrad) and the little white tiger Pascha (Thomas Garmatsch) that expose prejudices with innocent wit and are understood by every child. The two tame vegetarian kittens flee the circus at first because they suspect that their trainer (Uwe Amberger with a diaphragmatic Viennese accent) is gay - he smells himself, is soft and soulful, can cook and has no girlfriend, but is anyway not a single.
On the way, Lucky and Pascha discover that "freedom and adventure" without money are by no means as attractive as expected. You meet the boxing kangaroo Django (Klaus Dopfer) and make friends with him. Django bounces around the stage like crazy on his fitness kangaroo jumping shoes until Pascha subtly means to him, "Sorry - we're just reading today!" When Django frankly explains that as a gay kangaroo he is having trouble finding a partner, the tigers decide to set him up with their trainer. They have now come to believe that “love is always beautiful”. Thus, they are ready to accept any sexual preference. The coach is not gay at all, on the contrary, massively biased. He vehemently refutes any evidence that could link him to being gay.
However, it would not be a family item if it didn't have a happy ending after all.
This is expected to be seen next spring on the Kulturwerkstatt stage.
In any case, the piece encourages you to think carefully about how you feel about LGBTQIA +.
Ingrid Zasche