DER ZAUBERER VON OZ

A whirlwind sweeps through Kansas, lifting the young Dorothy and her mountain cabin from a dust-dry reality into the dazzling land of Oz. But this time, Oz is not a fairy-tale kingdom, but a film set. Dorothy is offered the lead role: she is to play Judy Garland, icon of the Hollywood musical “The Wizard of Oz”, trapped in a dream factory of Technicolor and pills. The shoot quickly turns into a nightmare. Nevertheless, Dorothy steps in front of the camera and, holding back tears, sings of a longing we all know – the longing to feel at home within ourselves. For just as the Scarecrow wishes for a mind, the Tin Man for a heart, and the Cowardly Lion for courage, we all, in the end, want to feel that we are enough, just as we are. And as Dorothy follows the winding yellow roads through forests of papier-mâché, we follow her – in the hope that the Wizard might give us what we are missing.

It is therefore no surprise that Oz is a land of outsiders, of queer witches and single mothers, autistic wizards and melancholy showgirls. It is a world in which everyone suddenly starts dancing, as if choreographed in a musical. And then, a moment later, they hold their breath, as the cinematic dream dissolves into pain beneath all the kitsch. In Bastian Kraft’s staging, this journey through Oz becomes a journey through a dream – into our depths and fears, concealed beneath euphoria and desire.