Text: Daria Gulianytska
Life is theatre, and theatre is life!
As a theatre enthusiast and amateur theatre actress myself, I have always been deeply fascinated by theatre and its different forms. Munich is a theatre city, and I feel privileged to discover, learn about and explore this vibrant cultural sphere at TWM—the Department of Theatre Studies @LMU Munich!
Earlier this year, I went to a performance of The Mousetrap by The English Drama Group. It was my second time seeing the group’s actors perform on stage, and, from my point of view, the productions just keep getting better!
I was curious to learn more about the English Drama Group and interviewed one of the group’s performers, Elin Wimmer. I learned from her that the group has actually been around since the 1980s and was primarily founded because students had realized how unfortunate it was that the English department at LMU did not have a theatre group, even though there were people who were absolutely interested in the idea of staging plays in English. Under the direction of George Low, staff member of “Anglistik-Sprachpraxis” at LMU, they primarily performed a great deal of plays by Shakespeare, Austen, and also Dickens. During the so called coronavirus pandemic, the original group had to pause its productions. But after the pandemic, the project was revived!
The “new” English Drama Group has been active since October 2024 and now is both led as well as conceptualized by students. The group focuses on somewhat different types of plays, performances of which so far have included their first play, Betrayal by Harold Pinter, and their most recent play, The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie.
The group allows its audience to experience theatre directly in the university halls: their advertising, castings, and the performances themselves take place in Faculty 13 meaning that the lecture halls at Schellingstraße 3 are used as the group’s venues.
(Design: Elin Wimmer)
Behind the constructed stage of The Mousetrap is a whole labyrinth of rooms that appear in the imagination of the spectators. It is a real detective play that holds you captivated and intrigued until the big secret is revealed at the end of the play.
“Suspect Everyone” is the prompting slogan on the poster of the production and its playbill, urging the audience to try to find the murderer!
Frankly, the performance made such a magical impression on me that I felt inspired to create an illustration of the characters to try to convey their individual essence.
In the classic style of Agatha Christie’s plays, The Mousetrap (the world’s longest-running play, by the way, that premiered in 1952) presents the spectators with a line of interesting characters, each with their own unique quirks and backstories. They are depicted by incredibly talented actors, who simply make you feel completely immersed in the events of the play. I found it fascinating to watch all of them perform, study their acting style and mannerisms that bring the characters to life.
HAVE YOU DUNNIT?
I always think of theatre as a wonderful way of bringing people together: those who are already interested in theatre, as well as those who are just discovering theatre for themselves. Elin, the English Drama Group member, mentioned as my informant in the beginning of this post, told me that this is precisely the group’s primary goal: to offer students an opportunity to combine their passion for theatre and the English language outside the academic world. Art is essential to all of us! Extracurricular activities, particularly in the cultural sector, are a necessity, and amateur theatre should be an integral part of university life. This is just about confirmed during the productions of the group: they show how much people appreciate the cultural activity at LMU, and how well it is received that the plays are deliberately performed in English, – as this is still a rarity in Munich. But most importantly, they want the group to be a place of shared joy, where participants can express themselves artistically and meet like-minded individuals. The group are mostly English majors, but there are no limits to specific disciplines at all. Absolutely everyone is welcome to join the group if people have a passion for theatre and sufficient English skills. Not only can people watch the group perform, but also be a real part of it.
Such an initiative definitely should not be overlooked. Isn’t it always great to find a new interest? Whether it is learning more about theatre, starting theatre studies, or even joining a theatre group. But one thing is for sure: attending such a performance is an exciting way to spend an evening as well as a great opportunity to support local artistic talent. In honour of the 100th anniversary of Theatre Studies at LMU, it is certainly worth talking and writing about things related to collaborative participation and student initiatives such as the English Drama Group, which shows how interest in theatre extends past studies and into leisure time, bringing people together through art.
So, why theatre? Because it is fun! And at the same time it allows you to discover something for yourself and about yourself. 😉
About the author
Daria Gulianytska is a student of LMU Munich. “Medienkulturwissenschaft” is her major subject, and “Kunst, Musik und Theater” her minor. Art and theatre are her main interests, both within and outside the academia.
Hinterlasse einen Kommentar