By Martina Hafner
She had reached retirement age 22 years ago. But Brigitte Grothum (87) is as active as ever!
From Thursday she will play alongside Achim Wolff (84) in Jerome Kilty’s “Beloved Liar” at the Schlosspark Theater, a resumption after seven years. “Refreshing the text wasn’t a problem for us, it was difficult to find the letters again on stage.”
It is about the correspondence between author George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) and actress Beatrice Stella Campbell (1865-1940), who loved each other but never married. Their letters are scattered throughout the production in a heap of notes, pulled out of a hat box. “Of course we always have to fish out the right ones, I won’t reveal the trick of how we do it.”
The role of Beatrice Stella Campbell suits her very well, says Grothum: “She is so direct, while George Bernard Shaw is very intellectual. But he wrote wonderful letters. Not like today, where everyone just sends SMS with ‘I love you’ or ‘hdl’!”
She should know because she travels a lot. Last week she was a guest at the theater in Amberg, Palatinate, with “A German Life”, in which she plays Goebbels’ secretary. The play also runs regularly in the palace gardens. In addition, she will soon be going on a reading tour with Esther Baranjo’s “Never Silence”, based on the memories of a Holocaust survivor.
She is still excited before the performance. “Stage Fright? Clear! I always have to laugh a lot before a performance!” she says.
Scene from “Beloved Liar” with Brigitte Grothum and Achim Wolff Photo: DERDEHMEL/Urbschat
Grothum has had enough to mourn recently, her husband Manfred Weigert, with whom she had been married for 50 years, died in 2019. She fought her way back to life with work. And onto the stage!
Grothum explains: “It’s nice that I have so much to do, that I’m still in demand. It helped me a lot, so I’m feeling better now.”
Wed-Sat 8 p.m., Sun 4 p.m., Schloßstr. 48, 23-40.50 euros, ☎789 56 67 100, information and tickets
