The Man Who Never Cried

A tragicomic puppet theatre piece for World Alzheimer's Day - when grandpa sees the world through different eyes.

Paul's story unfolds in the space between clownish lightness and deep sorrow. Born between the wars, he endured an anxious, traumatic childhood and wanted just one thing after the war: to forget. Suppression became his constant companion, shaping his life and that of his family. Now it is dementia that, in its own way, sets him free.

On his 87th birthday, his son Severin and granddaughter Marie come to visit. Together they try to navigate daily life and, in doing so, rediscover both themselves and each other's world. Dementia brings a new lightness to Paul's life - buried hopes and dreams resurface, among them his long-held wish to travel to the Cape of Good Hope. Flying, though, was never really his thing.

Press: "This is the saddest and funniest play in the world. It is set in a time when nobody actually has time. Which is now." - and: "A magical evening. The roughly 90 uninterrupted minutes fly by." (Nord West Zeitung, 01.10.2016, Reinhard Tschapke)

Ages 15+ | 110 minutes including interval | Production: Theater Laboratorium, Oldenburg | Performers: Pavel Möller-Lück, Farnaz Rahnama | Direction: Barbara Schmitz-Lenders | Puppets: Mechtild Nienaber | Set and design: Beatrice Bader, Janosch Dannemann, Leon Dutz, Max Rauer | Lighting: Frank Struve