MAGIC KINGDOM

Helga is a young dramaturg at one of Switzerland’s most renowned theatres. When she is asked to assist a Spanish theatre collective in their research for a new production on conspiracy theories, she has no idea how deeply it will shake her own worldview. Together with Klaus, an experienced stage technician at the theatre, she embarks on a journey through the dazzling world of myths, claims, and rumours – until she finds herself confronted with a question she cannot shake: what can really be found beneath the costumes worn by the staff at Disneyland?

MAGIC KINGDOM is a sharp and humorous exploration of the fascination and dangerous allure of conspiracy theories. What initially seems absurd and far removed proves to be a mirror of our present: for we live in a world in which we spend more time debunking fake news than seeking out reliable information – and in which even established truths are increasingly called into question. Lack of knowledge, mistrust, and conspiracy thinking are becoming normalised in a slow and unsettling way. Why do people believe things that are not true? Are we still able to tell truth from lies? And if not, who is there to protect us?

The two directors and playwrights Adrián Perea and Álvaro Nogales pose these questions in MAGIC KINGDOM with lightness, wit, and an unsettling resonance with our reality. Through playful yet precise text work and a clear, humorous directorial language, the Spanish theatre collective Mudanzas López reflect on both themselves and on our world.