Eigengrau

Radical feminist Cassie has a new flatmate, Rose, whose whole life revolves around finding the right man. She believes she has found him in Mark, her one-night stand, and is now constantly looking for signs from fate that he loves her at the bottom of his heart. Mark, on the other hand, who likes to present himself as a womanizer, is not interested in Rose, but her flatmate Cassie is. Cassie sees through Mark, but is attracted to him for purely libidinal reasons, which annoys her. Tim is Mark's flatmate, a soft, good-natured man who is perfect for Mark to mirror his own magnificence. For Tim, Rose is his dream woman. Even when she has just satisfied Mark.

All this, combined with the terse, erratic and associative language, makes this play very funny and wicked. And a little true.

Everyone knows the helplessness with which we try to wring meaning out of our lives, and in "Eigengrau" the protagonists also struggle to find their footing. Feminist activist Cassie forgets herself while trying to change the world. Mark finds self-confidence in success with women, but loses his conviction in the process. Rose's belief in the stars leads her to a dead end. And Tim, who has lost control and faith, finds his calling. Each time they make contact, people affect each other until their influence on the other becomes so great that it can no longer be undone. This is the moment when coincidences become destinies that are forever intertwined.

In Penelope Skinner's text, the world has moved closer together. From values to status symbols, today's urban elite are closer to each other than city dwellers are to their respective neighbors in the countryside. Whether I go to a supermarket in Hamburg, a café in Los Angeles, a furniture store in London or a clothes store in Tokyo, the symbols are the same: a collection of furnishings, a Petersburg hanging, houseplants, remote work and second-hand clothes. Eigengrau" is set in one of these interchangeable urban centers, its scenes weaving themselves cheerfully and seemingly casually, as in a sitcom, ever deeper into an unstoppable story about the lives of young people in the metropolises of the twenty-first century.

The title, also known in English as "Eigengrau", refers to the color that the human eye perceives in complete darkness. According to the London Evening Standard, there is never black and white in human relationships, only shades of gray.

VVK: €21.60, reduced €13.90
B.O.: 23 €, reduced 15 €