Blog

31 January 2022

Teenagers in Trouble

TIT 2015

The huge success of “Teenagers in Trouble” was a welcome surprise. It was like a band having a hit record. Just like a hit record, “T.I.T.” has gone on to have a life of its own. Thirty years later, despite massive obstacles like the current pandemic, the play is still going on.

17 February 2021

Ach du dickes Ei

Heike and Kathrin

It‘s mid February 2021 at the time of writing this chapter in the history of Platypus Theater. There’s snow everywhere. Many of Berlin’s lakes and canals are iced over and people are lightheartedly skating on the ice, some are playing hockey, some are even taking a dip. People who don’t trust the ice are riding toboggans down the snow covered hills in one of Berlin’s many parks, throwing snow balls at each other, building snowmen or snow women, or merely walking, enjoying the blue sky and sunshine, the “thrill of the chill” and the sound of snow crunching underfoot. I’m thinking of the famous painting “Hunter in Snow” from Peter Bruegel. The colour white is dominating the Berlin landscape. It’s beautiful, it’s special and it’s a good antidote for the Corona Blues and a good way to lead into the story of the making of the Platypus play “Ach du dickes Ei” which is about two penguins who live in the ice in the South Pole.

09 December 2020

The Double Bass from Patrick Süsskind

Berlin preview invitation

The Double Bass from Patrick Süsskind

“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” Oscar Wilde

11 July 2020

Jean Labadie’s Big Black Dog

DSC Teaser

1989. Coming up with ideas for original plays is demanding. It’s difficult to devise one original play after another. Having done two original plays, ( Kangaroo and Finkelstein) we decided to adapt a short story into a play. I found “Jean Labadie’s Black Dog” in an anthology of stories which were designed to be told aloud. In the notes at the back of the anthology it said “telling time: 12-15 minutes” and recommended it for the 10+ age group. It was a very old story, handed down orally from generation to generation.

29 June 2020

The Clown Beim Kaufmann Finkelstein

DSC

„ If Napoleon hadn't been so tired on 18th October 1813, he might have won the Battle of Leipzig.“ Many events that have decided the course of human history came about by chance and the opposite of something completely different could just as well have happened. Chance is the greatest of all the great powers in the world.“ (Erich Kästner)

22 May 2020

Der Clown im Land der Kängurus

Kangaroo with Jenny

I had been in Germany for two years. After finishing a 9 month course in German, I worked as an educator in a small kindergarten with twelve 3-6 year old children. Working on a daily basis with these kids helped me to understand what makes them tick. I was forced to communicate in German. I used to play with animal puppets with the kids, tell them stories and sing songs. I was still struggling with the German language but keen to resume full time acting.

07 May 2020

Where Platypus Theater began

Fabriketage

I would like to tell the story of our WG. This is where it all started. Maybe it’s enough to say that Platypus Theater would probably never have been born if Anja and I hadn’t been living there. 

27 April 2020

Das Corona Virus und das Platypus Theater

Clown past and now

This is a very strange time indeed and even the most talented fortune teller cannot predict how the future will turn out. For Platypus Theater, it's a very difficult situation because it's our job to gather approximately 220 people in one room and have them share the same air for an hour or so. We have to cancel all our planned shows until at least the end of June. As you can imagine it's a huge financial loss.