Reviews

The "oppressive seriousness" of the evening with its "strange inevitability" develops from the ensemble's "fast, intense play" with "magnificently typified characters" and an "excellent mixture of grotesque, comedy, parody and deceptive reality." Susanne Schmelcher's production is "very skillfully prepared and vivid in its presentation" […] "The 'classic' school reading has not fallen out of time and is absolutely worth seeing in Heidelberg."

Eckhard Britsch, Mannheimer Morgen

Susanne Schmelcher's production is "close to the pulse of the times," and "not only socio-politically, but also culturally and aesthetically. " Toni Landomini also ensures this with his rap, which comments on events and mixes them up in a "zeitgeisty" way. […] The "red-hot [...] premiere evening": "But the actors also sparkled with greatperformances, fueled by the music and set."

Heribert Vogt, Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung

About Biedermann und die Brandstifter

Fire raisers [Firebugs] are in town, setting fire to the roofs under which the upstanding citizens are fast asleep. Despite all warnings, Gottlieb Biedermann offers shelter to two hawkers, letting them stay in his attic. He ignores their infernal schemes until the bitter end. In his morality without a moral, Max Frisch writes about the path of least resistance — with all its devastating consequences.

Credits

Playwright: Max Frisch

Director: Susanne Schmelcher

Cast:

Steffen Gangloff as Gottlieb Biedermann 

Katharina Ley as Babette Biedermann

Martin Wißner as Joseph Schmitz

Benedict Fellmer as Willi Eisenring

Toni Landomini as Musician

Stage/Costumes: Christina Kirk

Music: Toni Landomini

Dramaturgy: Lene Grösch

Chinese Script Translation: Wang Yukuan

About Susanne Schmelcher

Susanne Schmelcher (born in 1984) studied in Mainz and Granada/Spain. During her studies, she worked at the Nationaltheater Mannheim and realized projects on the independent scene as a director and choreographer. The German premiere of her production of Barbara Herold's "Covergirl" was invited to the Maximierung Mensch authors' festival. Susanne Schmelcher has been a freelance director since 2013 and works as a lecturer for different universities as well as at the Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck. For her production of "Anna Karenina" in a version by Armin Petras based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy, she was awarded the Vienna Theater Prize "Nestroy" in 2015.

About Theater und Orchester Heidelberg

Heidelberg's theatre building, the Theater Heidelberg, dates back to 1853 and was extended and reconstructed several times. In 2012, the completely refurbished building — now offering a large new hall — was reopened with festivities in honour of the occasion.

However, the new Marguerre-Saal, offering seats for 500 viewers, is not the only stage for the Theater und Orchester Heidelberg; the theater plays on different stages, from the Alter Saal to the Zwingers 1 and 3, as well as at external venues in the city area. The theatre employs 350 permanent staff members and almost the same number of regularly appearing artists in residence in the divisions of music theatre, theatre, dance and concerts, as well as children and youth theatre.

Holger Schultze has held the post as Artistic Director of the Theater und Orchester Heidelberg since the season of 2011/12. The theatre’s profile is characterized by its great commitment to contemporary drama, to international cooperation as well as guest performances and festivals across categories. With Holger Schultze as its Director, the theatre is increasingly gaining local and wider recognition, has received numerous awards, and continues to appear on "Best of" lists by theatre critics and the trade press. Under Artistic Director Holger Schultze, the Theater und Orchester Heidelberg registers a very high occupancy rate, reaching more than 200.000 viewers every year, and an amazing response from the audience.