All das Schöne

By Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe German by Corinna Brocher With: Peter Blum Director: Dieter Nelle Stage and costumes: Marie Freihofer

"A million happy moments"

Would you like to see a play about suicide? The subject is frightening. "All das Schöne" deals with suicide, but it is much more. The play mainly talks about the opposite, about the joy of life. [...] A seven-year-old is confronted with his mother's suicide attempt. [...] The son does something about it. It's a list of things he likes, for example water fights, being allowed to stay up late, rollercoasters. He puts the list on his mother's pillow, but she only corrects the spelling mistakes.
And now the central theme of the play begins, namely the list of endless things that bring pleasure and joy, that are worth living for. [...]
The hero continues this list indefinitely throughout his life, it is exaggerated to a million happy moments. [...] The list has changed his view of the world, says the hero of this extremely exciting 75-minute play. Peter Blum plays the protagonist in a variety of ways, good-humored and relaxed, serious and thoughtful, yet always highly present. [...]
Macmillan's play is an alternating bath of the hero's depressive moods and a celebration of joie de vivre. [...]
The message is that we should appreciate all the happy, beautiful moments in life and set them against the gloomy, depressing ones. Nothing wrong with that. It would be nice if the audience of this evening could start their own list of beautiful things."
Cord Beintmann, StZ 24.11.2023