Two friends couldn’t be more different. There’s Mario, the anxious ailing man whose mother has forbidden anything supposedly dangerous. Who was teased by friends. And there’s Steve, a sports guy who always seems to have the last word.
Both are out on a dirt road one evening. As so often. They, the amateurs, train for the famous New York Marathon. The driving force is Steve. Mario has just gotten halfway through a cold. Has stitch, feels ‘strange’, pleads for quick rest while Steve keeps checking his watch. And then there is a complete turnaround.
The play has been translated into 17 languages
The Italian Edoardo Erba wrote the play, which he strangely calls a comedy, in 1992. Since then it has been translated into 17 languages. His plays “Keller” (1999), “Mauer” (2002) and Utoya (2015) have already been shown in Germany.
Just over a year ago, “New York Marathon” was also translated into German for the Württembergische Landesbühne Esslingen, whose production by Laura Tetzlaff has now been shown in the Evangelisches Gemeindehaus, the alternative venue for the city’s theater, which is in need of renovation. It was Esslingen’s third guest appearance here this season.
Frank Charmier built a simple stage. Numerous partitions are covered as if by ice crystals, reflecting the changing light that captures the mood of the two runners. At first, Steve and Marko move lightly through the desolate landscape. Mario hasn’t recovered from a cold properly, grabs his side, is completely exhausted and wants to stop. “To whom do we have to prove what?” Isn’t the plan just nonsense?
The runners reflect on the first marathon runner, Pheidippis, who died in 490 BC. Chr. collapsed fatally, over God, grief, also over football, while sweat is running down them. Suddenly Steve is the weak one. The spleen. He collapses dramatically, but he doesn’t want to give up. Marko draws new strength from this, continues to run tirelessly, gains the upper hand.
Who was the better? Who cheated whom?
The training becomes a review of life together. To a lifelong friendship that was not without breaks. Steve stole Mario’s girlfriend, Mario treated a beggar like a dog. Memories pop up. Who was the better? Who cheated whom?
Felix Jeiter (Steve) and Daniel Großkämper (Mario) play with great precision and empathy for their very different protagonists. The end comes abruptly. The runners drove to training. There was an accident there. The stage is empty. dark the room. what really happened The staging hints at it, but leaves questions unanswered.
The exciting evening lasts 60 minutes in front of, unfortunately, quite empty rows of chairs. Too bad.
