Gossip on the Stairs

The comedy "Gossip on the Stairs" by Jens Exler became famous through the Hamburg Ohnsorg Theatre and the legendary actress Heidi Kabel. After many adaptations in various "folk" theatres, the Memmingen Puppet Theatre made history on stage. For the first time, they performed this play with puppets, giving it a distinctive Memmingen character.

The play takes the audience on a journey back to the 1980s, set in a Memmingen apartment building. A house with perfectly ordinary yet quirky residents who possess character traits that everyone recognizes from their own lives. There is the eccentric retired tax inspector Brummer, the kind-hearted Frau Knoop, Heike - the daughter of a major Memmingen car dealer seeking refuge with Frau Knoop, Basti - Herr Brummer's nephew who has also moved in with his uncle, and the boisterous landlord Westermayer, known both as a ladies' man despite his wedding ring and as a master butcher.

The central figure, however, is Frau Schnabel, supposedly the "good spirit of the house" as she believes. She loves to observe everything in the house, eavesdrop at doors, and isn't shy about peering through keyholes. She creates plenty of tension and confusion among the tenants. As the saying goes: the most pious person cannot live in peace if the wicked neighbour doesn't like it - or in our case, if Frau Schnabel doesn't like it.

One can hardly wait to see what happens in this respectable house, for boredom rarely takes hold here.

Running time: approximately 133 minutes.

Suitable for viewers aged 10 and up