One day, Britta (Petra Sommer) and Johanna (Alia Kidess) receive the phone call that many people dread: their father may require round-the-clock care. He had been found on out on the street, naked (except for a scarf), dancing and was under the impression that he was Tarzan. Suddenly the sisters are faced with the question: “what do we do now?”
But the two sisters are like chalk and cheese. Britta, who is married to Frank, has brought up two children and is finally looking forward to having more time to herself. She would also like to go back to work. Johanna on the other hand is a successful business woman in the world of corporate events. She has a full schedule and apart from that she is about to fly off to Mallorca with her Latin lover Piedro in four hours.
Britta (right, Petra Sommer) is fed up with Johanna’s (left, Alia Kidess) endless telephone calls
In the fierce argument that follows, the sisters discuss who will be there for their father, and are constantly being interrupted by Johanna’s mobile phone.
But in a series of monologues the audience learn more about both women. Both are annoyed by the situation. Britta sees herself as the one who will end up looking after their father on her own, as Johanna does not want to miss her flight. She is jealous of her sister’s lifestyle, always jetting off to somewhere and meeting famous people. “The only famous person that I know is Mayor Hans-Georg Brum” she sighs.
The two sisters lead very different lives
Johanna on the other hand is also jealous of her sister, even if she does not show this openly. She wishes that she had the chance “to just get to sit down at home”.
At first sight the play by local Priest Fabian Voigt may not seem to be on a topic that can be dealt with in a comedy, and indeed sometimes there were some serious words exchanged between the two players, with both of them being extremely serious during their monologues.
Both of them showed a lot of feeling and expression, but then there were also moments when the choice of words or the situation itself made the audience laugh, regardless of the seriousness of the subject.
In fact they laughed lot, and the actresses were able to play the audience and keep them listening carefully to every word, so that they could not help but laugh. And if the situation did become tense and quiet, that peace was often broken by the mobile phone’s ring tone playing “Girls just wanna have fun”.
It should also not be forgotten that each actress had around 45 minutes of dialogue to learn, and they were often alone on the stage – no mean feat.
After the interval Britta and Johanna began to work together and look for a solution to their problem. Not only were they able to find a way for their father to be cared for, new opportunities also opened up for their own futures as well.
And at least “Tarzan” would be well cared for if this because necessary.
Alia Kidess, Elvira Börner (prompter) and Petra Sommer celebrating the success of their play, with Tarzan in the background
This article originally appeared in German in the Oberurseler Woche on Thursday, 27th November, 2014.
The play will be performed again on Saturday, 16th May, 2015 at 7pm in the ruins of the Johanniskirche in Weißkirchen. Tickets cost €12 and doors open at 6.30pm.
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