An Evening at the Theatah

Don't ask me what's going on here.

It had been a while since we had enjoyed any culture, so last weekend we took in a play. We went with Jake's professor and a few other people to see "Sieben Schritte zur Selbstauflösung" ("Seven Steps to Self-Dissolution"), which Florian Beyer (pictured in the foreground), Jake's prof's brother, was performing in. The show was at Dresden's Neubau Schauspielhaus, a hipster theater in the hipster part of town. The lobby of the place was like a nightclub, with a bar, red walls, a disco ball, a record-spinning DJ, and all the young, good-looking people I never see in my neck of the woods. It was all very, very cool.

For whatever reason, going into the play, I was not concerned with being able to follow it, even though I knew it would be entirely in German. I've gotten really good at reading nonverbal language and I took drama in high school so I more or less get the symbolism and motivation in blocking and lighting and set and costume design and all that hooha.

I was not prepared for this.

Imagine the most post-modern, metaphoric, minimalistic, surreal theatrical commentary on cyberspace and current events. Now imagine it in German. Really fast, big-words German. If what you have imagined is some sort of illicit-drug-induced vision, then you have imagined exactly how I felt starting at about ten minutes in and going until several hours after the play had concluded. I spent the full hour and a half baffled by everything. Why is Florian pushing himself around in a wheeled office chair with a long stick? Why are those photographs floating in a fish tank? Are the actresses who were playing nuns two seconds ago and now appear to be playing hippie lesbians the same characters? Why is everyone holding big clear plastic balls? Why are those guys sword fighting now? Why is Florian's pal wrapped in bright blue tulle? And the gongs? What in the world is going on with the gongs?

Despite my bewilderment, it actually was really fun. I think watching people perform something they care about and have worked hard on is always fun, no matter what it is. But I'd be lying if I didn't take great comfort in Jake's professor's comment to me after the play:

"So, if you didn't understand all that, it's OK. I didn't understand it either."

Good to know I'm not alone.



JEM


P.S. Florian Beyer was adorable and should get thousands of wonderful roles!!