Eine Weihnachtsgeschichte

In the organizer's words:

Alongside the story of Jesus' birth, it is probably the most frequently told literary subject of the Advent season: Charles Dickens' Christmas story. The socially critical tale about the old miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who is haunted by four ghosts on the eve of Christmas and rediscovers his humanity through them, is a classic. There is no theater that has not performed this work several times.

So why a new version? The director and producer Martin Mühleis has celebrated great success with stage adaptations of literary works in recent years. His adaptation of Erich Kästner's autobiographical story "Als ich ein kleiner Junge war" with Walter Sittler in the leading role alone has been performed more than 500 times. Together with the composer Libor Síma, he has now created a musical fairy tale for the two actors Samuel Finzi and Herbert Knaup . Its aesthetic is reminiscent of old black and white films and plays with elements of literary revues. The music and the skillful lighting direction create spaces - and yet the literary text always plays the main role; the tempo, rhythm and structure of the novella are also preserved in the reading version.

This story, first published in 1843, appears timeless and topical. Especially in an age of self-centeredness, with egocentrism and iPhones, Charles Dickens' work emphasizes the value of charity and empathetic interaction with one another. And in the interpretation by Samuel Finzi and Herbert Knaup, the story takes on an incredible vibrancy, despite the underlying moral tone. In combination with the stage music, they both succeed in bringing out the typical, quirky British humor in a touching way. A wonderful Advent evening that gets the audience in the mood for the approaching Christmas festivities.