Ein Stück Großstadtrevier

by Saskia Fischer

Großstadtrevier is a cult series among German television series. Created in 1984 by the legendary crime drama director Jürgen Roland and produced by Studio Hamburg ever since, it has been telling the story of small fish and big sharks and the everyday life of a police station in St. Pauli for 538 episodes in 39 seasons. The Davidwache, right next to the theater, has always been its secret role model.

Now the current head of the police station, Ms. Küppers, and her team are coming to the stage of the St. Pauli Theater, but not just to tell another episode of "Großstadtrevier": Early in the morning somewhere in Hamburg. The series ensemble meets for a photo shoot before filming begins. But the door of the mask mobile is jammed - and suddenly everyone is locked inside. While a persistent fan outside demands "Jan's return" - reminding them once again of the most famous cast member - with the threat that otherwise there will be no cake and no escape, an absurd, comical and melancholy round dance begins inside about former colleagues, old heroes, the mechanics of the series, everyday filming, quota pressure, text anxiety, fans, friendship - and the big drama behind the small television picture.

Saskia Fischer (Frau Küppers) has written a script that skillfully alternates between comedy, intimate drama and crime thriller, with a dash of mutiny. And casually recalls famous role models, such as the policeman Seargent O'Hara in "Arsenic and Lace", who is dismissed because he writes plays at the station instead of going on patrol. Or even closer to home: "Udel" Julius Schölermann from the Davidwache, who wrote the folk play "Thetje mit de Utsichten", which became a hit on the stage of the St. Pauli Theater. Saskia Fischer, who is not a "real" policewoman, is now following in this tradition. During rehearsals, the ensemble, who play themselves on stage and know themselves best, completed the text. And so the audience has the pleasure of seeing their familiar heroes and heroines live, in a completely different way, namely very personally and thus from a completely new perspective.

As a special highlight, the ensemble has invited very different Hamburg musicians on selected dates to present their very own version of the famous Truck Stop hit about the "Großstadtrevier" at the end of the evening.