Graz's Next Liberty

Imagination turns the orphan into a prince

Simone Leski and Christoph Steiner in "Mio, my Mio"(Bild: STELLA KAGER)

Friendship and courage are the ingredients that turn the orphan Bosse in Astrid Lindgren's book "Mio, my Mio" into a prince. In Caroline Ghanipour's loving production at Next Liberty in Graz, this transformation is also told with a great deal of humor.

When a genie wants to take him to a faraway land, orphan Bosse is right there with him. Nothing keeps him in his dreary home, except perhaps his friendship with Benka, but he can tell her everything later. In the land of faraway places, however, not only does his loving father, the king, await him, but also a great task that he must face despite his fears.

The happy, bright land of the distance(Bild: STELLA KAGER)

The evil knight Kato has been kidnapping children for a long time and turning them into mourning birds or putting hearts of stone in them. Mio must defeat him with the help of the faithful Jum-Jum in order to fulfill an ancient prophecy and fulfill his destiny.

Fantastic ideas
Director Caroline Ghanipour and set designer Denise Heschl tell the story full of fantastic ideas. The bright land of the distance is depicted with light and color, as is the dark atmosphere in Kato's Land Outside. Creepy scouts spread fear and terror there. 

Christoph Steiner is an ideal Mio cast member. Simone Leski (Benka/Jum-Jum), Helmut Pucher (King) as well as Lisa Rothhardt and Cassandra Schütt (in different roles) also play their way into the hearts of the audience. Martin Niederbrunner as the cruel Kato, on the other hand, gives the audience goosebumps.

Once again, Next Liberty has succeeded in creating an exciting, entertaining evening of theater with an important message, which delighted the young audience at the premiere.