“Barrack” in the German Theater: Pop cultural reckoning

The national flag in the toilet: scene from “Baracke” in DT

The national flag in the toilet: scene from “Baracke” in DT Photo: DAVIDS/Christina Kratsch

By Sebastian Bauer

The premiere of Rainald Goetz’s new piece captivated with a multifaceted examination of the causes of right-wing violence.

Rainald Goetz is a stroke of luck for theater and public debate.

In his new piece “Baracke”, the author, who has recently become rare, took a multifaceted look at the historical continuity of (especially right-wing) violence. The premiere on September 22, 2023 at the Deutsches Theater (director: Claudia Bossard) began with the amusing love triangle of young provincials (Mareike Beykirch, Jeremy Mockridge, Janek Maudrich) – but the horror of marriage cast its shadow ahead.

Little by little, more and more bile seeped into the humor. A Biedermeier ancestor as a beating father. National Socialism rose from the grave as a horribly withered prostitute.

And with dancing chocolate bars, a Bifi sausage and a babbling banana, Goetz showed us how cheap entertainment we used to distract ourselves from the murderous right-wing terror of an NSU for far too long.

Such a pop-cultural reckoning with German nationalism and the bourgeois family is not new, but it is true enough to not always provide food for thought.

Especially when it is presented with Rainald Goetz’s talent for linguistic and pictorial details.

Again on September 23rd + 26th, October 1st + 8th + 13th + 19th, Schumannstraße 13a, 5-48 euros, Tel.: 28 44 12 25

Subjects:

Berlin culture German theater theater review

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