Munich in April 1919. In the turmoil of the revolution, a group of poets and idealists proclaim the socialist Munich Soviet Republic. The only 25-year-old poet Ernst Toller is fighting for his utopia of a fairer society. However, he soon finds that he cannot save the Soviet Republic from left wing fights or from their bloody doom.

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In 1968, around 50 years later, at a time that was also shaped by a spirit of political change, Tankred Dorst wrote his play Toller. In it he shows the title character as a pacifist dreamer who cannot find his place between the two poles of socialism and social democracy.

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Exactly 100 years after the Soviet Republic, the group Happy Drama combines the two time levels of the plot and the creation of the piece in its new production. In the style of a happening of the 1960s, elements of speech and figure theater mix with live music and dance to form a psychedelic rock revue.

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          Julian Monatzeder staged Toller [...] in a refreshingly cheeky manner and also shows parallels to the political revolt of the 1960s. "

Dirk Wagner, Süddeutsche Zeitung (June 12, 2019)

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           Happy Drama not only provides a historical account of the revolution of 1919, but also a rock-musical rewriting of Tankred Dorst's scenic revue. "

Christiane Wechselberger, Münchner Feuilleton (06/11/2019)

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TEAM

with: Aaron Croy, Benjamin J. Edwards, Dominique Marquet, Antun Opic, Benjamin Hirt, Mira Mazumdar, Julian Monatzeder, Julian Scheufler, Roman Suschko

Directed by Julian Monatzeder

Graphic design: Denise Jaeger

Photos: Frank Schroth

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               A production by HAPPY DRAMA

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