Theater in the station

From the edge to the center and back again

Democracy at the theater: voting on the continuation of the play(Bild: Johannes Gellner)

Their homes in the districts of Lend and Gries led five members of Graz's Theater im Bahnhof to Germany on their geographical "blind date". In "Blind Date Mitte", they now provide a witty and sharp analysis of our neighbors in the TiB quarter.

A map of the Graz lines superimposed on a map of Europe determined the destinations of the TiB troupe. According to their next streetcar and bus stops, Johanna Hierzegger ended up in Stuttgart, Eva Hofer in Kassel, Martina Zinner in Erfurt, Pia Hierzegger in Leipzig and Moke Klengel in Memmingen. They summarized their explorations in a kind of epistolary drama.

Personal impressions and fundamental questions
However, this is not only about the often very personal impressions of the travelers, it also deals - as always in an original way - with very fundamental questions about Europe, democracy, German peculiarities and unities. You quickly move from the center back to the edge.

Johanna Hierzegger's cinematic experiences with the GDR punk band Schleim-Keim, which Pia Hierzegger and Martina Zinner breathe life into with lots of hairspray, are wonderful, as are Moke Klengel's problems with the prettiness of a small German town. Eva Hofer's analysis of the ambivalent Kassel or Pia Hierzegger's close look at interpersonal relationships in Leipzig are fascinating. There are also church bells and quirky hairstyles.

Pia Hierzegger in a re-enactment of Schleim-Keim at the TiB(Bild: Johannes Gellner)

When, at the end, Caspar David Friedrich's famous painting "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog" is re-enacted to the sounds of the Romantic artist August Klengel (the relationship could not be proven) and the typical German in each of us is sought, then the circle is complete; and the question "Are we still together?", which serves as the title of the evening, must be answered with a unanimous yes.

Incidentally, all the travelers not only brought back memories, but also souvenirs, which can be admired in a small, fine exhibition in the TiB Quarter.