Luk Perceval - Münchner Kammerspiele

'Kleiner Mann - Was nun?' is a play based on the novel by the German writer Hans Fallada (1893-1947). It is a love story full of hope. The story is set in the financially beleaguered Germany of the early thirties. The main characters are Johannes Pinneberg and his girlfriend Emma 'Lämmchen' Mörschel. One day Emma is surprised to discover that she is two months pregnant. The couple marry and try to survive as a young family despite the unstable economic times. However, John has a rough time. He frequently loses his job and consequently starts to lose his self-esteem. Emma remains his refuge in troubled times however, and because of her love John does not give up. Luk Perceval, who is a guest director at the Münchner Kammerspiele, uses this opportunity to talk about the present. He combines empathizing dialogues with a more detached narrative in the tradition of Bertolt Brecht. He views his characters, played by the excellent Munich Kammerspiele ensemble, with compassion and tenderness. There are no grand gestures or loud expressions of suffering. Instead, we see an impressive stage set that shows you how devastating society can be for the common man. Was tun? Was nun?