Sesam – ತಿ ಲ

Till Eulenspiegel, the cunning and thuggish anarchist from the old German folk book, and his kindred fools and tricksters from Asia are at the center of this production with characters, masks and live music. In the face of societal divisions, international conflicts and aftermath of the pandemic, social inequality and political radicalization, the figure of the fearless provocateur who relentlessly exposes truths is immensely appealing. Rich and poor, peasants and kings, artisans and priests alike are hoodwinked by Till, their weaknesses are exposed or they are simply confounded with jugglery by the traveling street performer.

Translated back, Till or Til means sesame, so if you can read the Sanskrit script in the title above, you read Til, meaning sesame. A grain that was already cultivated in India thousands of years ago and is particularly precious for oil production. Sesame plays a role in Hindu festivals and customs and is used as a synonym for a tiny thing, a little, a quint.

A fleeting encounter between Surendranath and Wilde & Vogel at a puppet theater festival gave rise to the desire to work on a production together, and after years of international isolation during the pandemic, the opportunity to meet for the first time in Bengaluru, India, with the support of the Goethe-Institut. Now the actors are plunging into a joint adventure on and in front of the stage, always along language confusion, different cultural imprints, different generations and a wealth of stories, the decisive question clearly in front of their eyes: What does the fool say?

Play Soumya Bhagwat, Sharath Kodanda, Shruti Kiran, Sandee Brahmappa

Live music, composition Vivek Govindaraja

Director Michael Vogel

Production management Surendranath Subbanna

Assistant Production Sharath Kodanda

Dramaturgy Surendranath Subbanna, Charlotte Wilde

Puppetry Shravan Heggodu, Michael Vogel

Musical accompaniment Charlotte Wilde

Stage Michael Vogel

Lighting Surendranath Subbanna