RÄUBER VON SCHILLER - Berlin Premiere

Are you really doing well, Germany? Nicolas Sidiropulos and Mark Tumba examine Schiller's debut work from a post-migrant perspective.

When "The Robbers" premiered in 1782, it caused a sensation - one eyewitness reported: "The theatre resembled a madhouse: rolling eyes, clenched fists, hoarse cries from the audience. Strangers fell sobbing into each other's arms." Schiller was threatened with imprisonment in a fortress and had to flee.

A quarter of a millennium later, two actors retell this story of belonging, love, selfishness and freedom against the backdrop of their own family histories - a tale from Germany before Germany existed. How much explosive force does this once-radical material still carry? What changes when the surname "von Moor" becomes "von Deutsch-land"? Is a character like Amalia still playable today - and if so, by two men?

"What can come to mind with Schiller's Robbers - Tumba and Sidiropulos show it with a blend of energy and great tenderness that fits the spirit of the piece, which they have almost entirely rewritten." - Stefan Michalzik, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

"Self-irony - like the whole venture, not without charm - is in no short supply." - Frankfurter Rundschau

"...highly accomplished: genuinely inspired craft." - Frankfurter Neue Presse

BY & WITH: Nicolas Sidiropulos / Mark Tumba
WORLD PREMIERE: Spielraumprojekt, acting students of HMTM Hannover (2019)
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT: Schauspiel Frankfurt (2025)

MARK TUMBA was born in 1995 in Zanzibar and moved to Hagen in Westphalia in 1999. After early appearances at the Jungen Bühne of Stadttheater Hagen and Theater Rottstraße 5 in Bochum, he studied acting at HMTM Hannover. Since the 2021/22 season he has been an ensemble member at Schauspiel Frankfurt, working with directors including Claudia Bauer, Nuran David Calis and Christina Tscharyis.