What a spectacle! Entertaining, educational, and truly identity-forming was the theater performance put on by nearly 30 residents of Ebersberg for the people of their city over the weekend. The Ebersberger Forest with its historical fountain, the skull of St. Sebastian, the White Lady, the lookout tower: almost everything that makes up the history of this place was humorously explored here. And after the premiere on Friday, all you could see were happy faces: the actors were pleased to have successfully brought this mammoth project to the stage of the Old Storage Building, and the audience was completely thrilled.
„Ebersberg celebrates itself: There were three almost sold-out performances over the weekend at the Old Storage Building.“
„Only those who know the past can shape the future,“ says Mayor Uli Proske at the opening – but now, after three performances of „At the Well Deep in the Forest,“ there is hardly any need for catching up. The play, written on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the city’s founding, even offers a glimpse into the future: at the end, the two time travelers land in the year 2054, in the midst of the celebrations for the city’s one hundredth birthday, already repeatedly voted the „most beautiful in all of Germany.“ But the utopia goes even further: TSV is playing in the First Bundesliga, the castle brewery has acquired Paulaner, an Ebersberg solar manufacturer is a leading DAX company, and there is finally stable world peace. One should still be allowed to dream, right?
The play, written by Wolfgang Oppler, is full of historical references and humor. The audience, well-informed about the history of Ebersberg, appreciates every reference, as well as the many jabs at neighbors and banter between genders. In addition, the audience can enjoy great sets from the workshop of initiator Georg Schuder, detailed costumes and hairstyles, and plenty of funny props. When a horde of hobbyhorses gallops across the stage, the laughter is loud.
The volunteer actors also impress. Whether a theater newcomer or semi-professional, they are all very present, playing and articulating clearly. Some speak the best Bavarian dialect, others High German, but everyone is easy to understand. The prompter, hiding behind a bush just in case, is not needed. The two directors, Andreas Wolffhardt and Thomas Warg, have done an excellent job.
The chemistry between the two main actors, Christl Bergmeier as a cheeky journalist and Franz Reiner as an ambitious historian, is just right. The time travel makes them a small community of fate, two people who can’t stand each other, but also can’t live without each other. Christoph Propstmeier plays the business-savvy Jesuit father leisurely, leaving plenty of room for his Bavarian-agile co-players: Barbara Stinauer wins hearts as the clever monastery shop tenant.
Applause-worthy performances come from Walter Brilmayer, perfectly embodying the role of Count Eberhard, while sparks fly between his huntsman Christoph Perstorfer and head cook Marina Labermair – no wonder, as they are a couple in real life. The next act brings together a group of Ebersberg celebrities: Angela Warg-Portenlänger and Elfriede Brilmayer delight as Bavarian-Roman gossipers, Uli Proske and Martin Schedo shine as bumbling occupiers, and Antje Berberich haunts the scene in her role as the White Lady. „Help, the people from Poing are coming,“ she calls out. „They already took me to Gabersee once!“ In the Stone Age, you can encounter wild characters: Helmut Stalla, Robert Bauer, Ingrid Stalla, and Marcus Müller.
Also worth mentioning are the captivating prelude by the Ebersberg Music School and the interlude music, a guest performance from Grafing, proving that the competition with the neighboring town can also have pleasant exceptions in reality. Martin Augenstein has brought together eight instrumentalists who offer a range of music from spirited folk tunes to swinging big band sounds. Various brass instruments are used, as well as harp, hammered dulcimer, double bass, drums, triangle, and a huge gong. Like a film score, this band heralds the next era, with baroque sounds or Roman fanfares. The musicians even use onomatopoeia: hoofbeats are mimicked on wooden rakes, stones being struck together, congas, and alpine horns setting the stage for the beginnings of humanity.
In the Stone Age, the great mystery is finally solved: who built the well in the forest and why? Of course, it was the people from the Beautification Association – „because they’re crazy.“ The hole is meant to be an attraction like Stonehenge or the Egyptian pyramids, „for entertainment for all eternity.“ It can be confidently stated: the space-time continuum is lost on this evening – and in the best way possible.
