Hussam Nimr, Thomas Wegscheider und Nicola Kripylo
Hussam Nimr, Thomas Wegscheider und Nicola Kripylo
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Thomas Wegscheider und Nicola Kripylo
Thomas Wegscheider und Nicola Kripylo
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Hussam Nimr
Hussam Nimr
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Thomas Wegscheider
Thomas Wegscheider
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Thomas Wegscheider und Janna Ramos-Violante
Thomas Wegscheider und Janna Ramos-Violante
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Thomas Wegscheider und Hussam Nimr
Thomas Wegscheider und Hussam Nimr
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Nicola Kripylo
Nicola Kripylo
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Hussam Nimr, Nicola Kripylo und Thomas Wegscheider
Hussam Nimr, Nicola Kripylo und Thomas Wegscheider
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Hussam Nimr und Janna Ramos-Violante
Hussam Nimr und Janna Ramos-Violante
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Nicola Kripylo
Nicola Kripylo
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Thomas Wegscheider und Nicola Kripylo
Thomas Wegscheider und Nicola Kripylo
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Thomas Wegscheider und Nicola Kripylo
Thomas Wegscheider und Nicola Kripylo
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Hussam Nimr, Thomas Wegscheider und Nicola Kripylo
Hussam Nimr, Thomas Wegscheider und Nicola Kripylo
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Janna Ramos-Violante und Thomas Wegscheider
Janna Ramos-Violante und Thomas Wegscheider
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Thomas Wegscheider, Nicola Kripylo, Hussam Nimr und Janna Ramos-Violante
Thomas Wegscheider, Nicola Kripylo, Hussam Nimr und Janna Ramos-Violante
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Thomas Wegscheider und Janna Ramos-Violante
Thomas Wegscheider und Janna Ramos-Violante
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Nicola Kripylo, Hussam Nimr, Janna Ramos-Violante und Thomas Wegscheider
Nicola Kripylo, Hussam Nimr, Janna Ramos-Violante und Thomas Wegscheider
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall
Thomas Wegscheider
Thomas Wegscheider
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall

THE WEIGHT OF ANTS

David Paquet

Ages 12 and up

Austrian premiere: 28 April 2023 / Kammerspiele

Synopsis

And the Oscar for the worst educational institution goes to: Jeanne’s and Olivier’s school! No money, no quality and definitely no place anybody would like to spend time in. The solution: advertising! Talking shampoo ads, to be precise. Now, even the restroom is restless. Wherever the students go, models with flawless skin, full heads of shiny hair and perfect bodies are incessantly reminding them of their own shortcomings.

Jeanne has had enough: “#nofilterneeded”! Determined to fight back against these daily body-shaming attacks, she becomes an activist. Meanwhile, Olivier is plagued by great worries: the climate crisis, corruption, nuclear threats – anything at all that can make one scared. In his dreams he sees teenagers being roasted like marshmallows over an open fire. When the headmaster proclaims a “Week of the Future”, both Olivier and Jeanne decide to run for the post of student president.

Fuelled by enthusiastic speeches, conspiracies, ninja expeditions and the love of unicorns, the campaign asks loudly and clearly whether optimism and activism are still legitimate, viable strategies for the future. Or is “Pizza for everybody!” really all we need?

With “The Weight of Ants” (“Le poids des fourmis”), Canadian author David Paquet (*1978) has written an angry comedy unfolding at a furious pace. He presents a chaotic adult world from which teenagers get no guidance and in which they have no say. Paquet is one of the most influential contemporary Canadian dramatists. He received a Governor General’s Award in 2010.

Christina Gegenbauer has staged theatrical productions at the Vienna Burgtheater, the Staatstheater Nürnberg and in Regensburg, Münster and Bielefeld. Her projects for children, teenagers and adults discuss topics that are relevant to society. The 2022/2023 season sees her making her debut at the Salzburg State Theatre with “The Weight of Ants”, a play for young audiences.

Duration: 70 min / no break

Selected performance

We 05/03/2023 11.00 am

Kammerspiele

Cast (on 05/03/2023)

Director Christina Gegenbauer

Stage and Costume Design Frank Albert

Musik Nikolaj Efendi

Dramaturgy Patricia Pfisterer


Jeanne / Gabielle / Kontrolltower / Einhorn Nicola Kripylo

Olivier / Shampoowerbung / Matheschüler Thomas Wegscheider

Der Direktor / Émilio / Inhaber Buchhandlung / Raoul / Kassierer / Traumstimmen Hussam Nimr

Betrunkene Buchhändlerin / Oliviers Mutter / Busfahrerin / Mimi-Rose / Joéy / Mike / Traumstimmen Janna Ramos-Violante

Audio introduction

von Patricia Pfisterer

Reviews

Christina Gegenbauer gelingt mit ihrer Inszenierung ein absolut vielversprechendes Regiedebüt. Das vierköpfige Ensemble zeigt, was kultivierte Schauspielkunst ausmacht: Wandlungsfähigkeit, Spielfreude, Tempo und Rhythmus in spannungsvollen Text- und Bewegungssequenzen - das zeichnet jeden einzelnen aus. Bravo!

Traunsteiner Tagblatt

Die flotte, freche Inszenierung von Christina Gegenbauer kam bei den Jugendlichen in der Schulvorstellung am 2. Mai 2023 bestens an. Christina Gegenbauer lässt in ihrer Inszenierung die Schauspieler*innen über 20 schräge Charaktere verkörpern, die wie in einem Spiel ständig von Level zu Level springen.

Dorfzeitung