Producer
Leopold Hoesch
Director
Jobst Knigge
Producer
Vera Bertram
Genre
Culture
Broadcaster
ZDFtheaterkanal / 3sat / ZDFdokukanal
Length
1 x 30'
Editor
André Hammesfahr
Year
2008
Theatrescapes
GRIPS Theater Berlin

For almost 40 years, a visit to the GRIPS Theatre in Berlin has been one of the highlights of the year for generations of schoolchildren. Grips means brains in Berlinese. But Grips is much more than that. It is a theatre that is unique in all of Germany.

West Berlin, the free city of the free world, frontline city against communism: 1969 is the official start of Grips. Born out of the tradition of post-war cabaret, Volker Ludwig and his friends make anti-authoritarian children's theatre. "Stokkerlok und Millipilli" is the name of the first play with a clear message: it is forbidden to ban. A scandal, the GRIPS Theatre makes itself unpopular with politicians and the press - but in the end holds its own.

Mit dem Stück „Linie 1“, das seit 1986 ohne Unterbrechung gespielt wird, beginnt eine einzigartige Erfolgsgeschichte und eine Reise rund um die Welt: Kalkutta, Moskau, Omsk, Vilnius, Seoul, London. Heute läuft die „Linie 1“ in 25 Sprachen auf der ganzen Welt und ist nach der Dreigroschenoper das erfolgreichste deutsche Musical aller Zeiten.

In addition to the founder and director Volker Ludwig and the actors Axel Prahl, Dieter Landuris and Julia Blankenburg, who were or are part of the large Grips family, Klaus Wowereit and Eberhard Diepgen have their say. They all talk about an extraordinary piece of German theatre history and a theatre that for many is an inseparable part of childhood, youth and growing up.

Broadcast: Sunday, 28 December 2008, 12.30 p.m., 3Sat.

Theatrescapes: GRIPS Theater Berlin

For almost 40 years, a visit to the GRIPS Theatre in Berlin has been one of the highlights of the year for generations of schoolchildren. Grips means brains in Berlinese. But Grips is much more than that. It is a theatre that is unique in all of Germany.

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