“Propadanga” theater in Hanover: deceptively entertaining generational conflict

One, two, three “poop birds”: That’s what the white clowns who invite you to the entertainment program are called. Something that is easy to imagine at wedding or birthday parties: there are games, prizes, jokes, songs, dances, silly chats, questions for the audience, photos and stories from childhood days. There are a few serious comments in between.

Author and director Nils Zapfe calls this performance on a show staircase at the Hanover State Theater “Propadanga”. The twisted letters in the title are intended to make it clear: everything on this evening should be “funny and charming”. A homely, relaxed, fun atmosphere is created. Not in order to critically examine the mechanisms that influence people's thoughts, feelings and actions. But to practice it. So that everyone can experience for themselves how propaganda works (without twisted letters).

In order to take the viewers out of their reference groups and bring them into a new, now somewhat insecure society that is more receptive to demagogics, they are forced to position themselves according to their age. It takes time for everyone to sit correctly, from the 9-year-old in the bottom left to the 70-year-old in the top right of the stands.

Then it starts: with the claim that adults have always complained about young people. Parental disciplinary sentences are presented and culminate in the sentence: “All advice is an invisible baseball bat.” This is how young people should feel emotionally supported: This play development is intended for “people aged 13 and over” and for many school performances.

“Propadanga”, Hanover State Theater/Ballhof 2.

Next performances: Mon, October 5th; Fri, October 30th; Thu, November 5th (with simultaneous translation into German sign language)

In a matter-of-fact tone, the lecture then states that there is no scientific evidence at all that Germans are only allowed to be of age at the age of 18. Maybe the so-called minors should just be treated as inferiors for as long as possible? The elder-bashing boils down to a thesis: Our world is at a tipping point - "Glaciers are burning, bombs are falling, forests are disappearing, but no arguments will ignite" - and of course it's the adults who are to blame. They are the ones who prevent “a future without fear” that innocent youth dream of.

The unpleasant atmosphere seems increasingly grotesque, and there is no wink in the eye. Instead, it is politely stated that there are many more old voters than young people. That is why two demands must be implemented: “The right to vote from birth” and that in democratic decisions the votes are graded according to age: seven times for 0 to 10 year olds, single for 70 year olds.

With this requirement, the audience itself is asked to vote: Should everyone over 40 be excluded from the further performance? Director Vasco Boenisch, 46, is for it, the majority is against it. The reviewer can stay that way until the end: the audience is invited to take the newly tested black and white view with them into the world outside.

So an apparently scandalously unreflective evening ends, with which the convincing trio of entertainers Shirin Eissa, Nils Rovira-Muñoz and Anne Stein seem to want to incite population groups against each other: Can the young people present, portrayed as good guys, not feel cool and superior? Not quite.

Spectators of all ages will be given a QR code for the way home. After the click, Zapfe and his friends show in detail how they mixed information and opinions for “Propadanga”, used simplifications, exaggerations and repetitions, and appealed to fear, hatred and pride; They have taken up and reinforced existing prejudices; statements should be made credible through distortion, half-truths and lies. And they reveal which examples they are referring to, especially from the Nazi era, but also from the Trump era. So everyone can read about how he or she was ripped off.

With a non-spoilered approach, “Propadanga” functions as a kind of supervised self-awareness. The evening is an excitingly successful exercise in becoming more resilient against disinformation campaigns.