Advance ticket sales are underway, the sets are being tinkered with and the most important roles have been cast – the open-air theater makers in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have already set their sights on this year’s season.
In Ralswiek on Rügen, the Störtebeker Festival is hosting a special edition. This year, with the execution of the eponymous and legendary privateer, a cycle that has spanned several seasons ends. This time it will be five seasons, but seven years, as Störtebeker boss Anna-Theresa Hick said. The reason is the two-year Corona break.
The casting of the amateur actors had already been brought forward to February and was advertised more intensively. “Then we had over 200 people show up for the casting. We haven’t had that since the early 1990s, I think.” The scenery is being worked on on stage. The first painters are already there. Work is also underway on the more than 1,500 costume pieces. Rehearsals are scheduled to start at the beginning of May and will run until the premiere on June 15th. The play “Hamburg 1401” will then run 67 times until the end of August in front of a maximum of 8,800 spectators per evening and, as usual, with fireworks, birds of prey, horses and the roar of cannons.
At the Pirate Open Air in Grevesmühlen, the individual parts for the stage design are to be assembled after Easter. So far, work has been done on this in halls, said director Peter Venzmer. Advance sales are on track and correspond to the pre-Corona numbers. This year the spectacle has been upgraded to seaside. “For the first time, we have an entire fleet of ships that will bombard and destroy a city.” From June 21st, the play “With Fire, Sword and Crucifix” will take up to 3,400 spectators to the Caribbean 62 times per evening until the end of August.
Anyone who wants to play or work as an extra in the Müritz saga on the Mecklenburg Lake District can introduce themselves at a casting in mid-April. The stage construction has been going on since January, said director Nils Düwell. “So I hope we’ll have it finished by mid-May, when rehearsals start.” 41 performances are planned from June 29th to August 24th in front of up to 1000 spectators. Advance sales are going surprisingly well. “What makes us very proud and happy.” The story “Betrayed and Sold” is again based on documented events from the times of the 30 Years’ War.
In Zinnowitz on Usedom, the Vorpommersche Landesbühne is telling a new story about the town of Vineta, which has sunk into the sea, from June 28th to August 31st. Once again the question is whether the legendary city can be saved. Already on Easter Sunday, the traditional Easter spectacle on the beach at the pier with music, dance, fights and acrobatics, among other things, got us in the mood for the Vineta Festival.
Störtebeker Festival Pirate Open Air Vineta Festival Müritz Saga
