The world premiere of 'Wo Du nicht bist' by the Berlin cult theater formation 'Nico and the Navigators gave the Bregenz Festival audience a wonderful evening on Friday, which, away from conventional narrative theater, conjured up a fireworks display of acting shooting stars in the theater sky. The eight characters stroll perfectly in terms of speech and movement through a stage by Oliver Proske, which is a kind of landscape of thought. There's a small bridge, plus a pavilion where the exceptional musicians of Franui brush Schubert songs against the grain. There are also two hills rising from the theater floor, which lie there like two breasts and over which the actors throw their episodic slapsticks at the audience. The title of the play is taken from one of Schubert's most famous songs, 'der Wanderer'. In free associative spurts, happiness is scenically pondered. For this, views on happiness from Aristotle (happiness is virtue) to Albert Camus (the self must find its happiness) are quoted. The actual theatrical situation, however, stages a search for happiness taken from the immediate present. Everyone is chasing his personal happiness, everyone remains infinitely lonely in this search. The tenderness is always ambiguous. Despite hard work, the ensemble, captivating in every detail, seems effortless in its performance. Improvisation is an essential component of the working method.

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