Andcompany&Co.

What happens when a young and radical Berlin theatre collective stages a satire from the romantic Sturm und Drang? 'Pandämonium Germanicum' is a late eighteenth-century work by the German poet Jakob Lenz who died when young. And guess what? This satire fits in perfectly with the experimental theatre on which Andcompany & Co. has a patent. The play is set in the world of demi-god writers and artists. Together with his childhood friend, Goethe, Lenz climbs the 'Temple of Fame'. It is frequented by all sorts of literary giants such as Lessing, Molière, Rousseau and Shakespeare himself. For Andcompany&Co. this is a great opportunity to make an absurd magnification of mad genius, embodied by Jakob Lenz, who lapsed into schizophrenia and isolation after his hero Goethe spurned him. Andcompany&Co. links this sad end to the breakdown of the German postwar generation. Consequently, we see a tableau of wigs, steward's, business punks and 'postfordian' counter-revolutionaries!