RSS2007 The Night before Xmas
The Night Before Christmas by Anthony Neilson
It’s Xmas eve in a dingy London suburb, and warehouse owner Gary is not amused: he found a burglar in his back room. The guy is wearing an elf costume, adamantly claims to be a real-life Elf, and says he fell off the sleigh during a sky ride. Is he telling the truth? Or is he just a messed-up nutter? Gary’s pal Simon and prostitue Cherry arrive on the scene and do their best to find out the truth. When the Elf promises to grant them each a Christmas wish in exchange for his freedom, things get really out of hand. What’s the most important thing to wish for? Will their desires come true..? – Be that as it may: „it’s not too late to save Christmas!” An intelligent farce with irony and puns galore. Pure enjoyment for those who need a break from Christmas songs and consumerism. The play will be performed in English, but is not suitable for young people under 16. And it’s nothing to do with the Tim Burton film of a similar name! 
Das Theaterstück
The Night Before Christmas von Anthony Neilson
Ein etwas anderer Heiligabend: Der kleine Schwarzmarkt-Dealer Gary überrascht in seinem Londoner Lagerhaus einen seltsamen Einbrecher. Der Typ sieht aus wie ein Elf – und hält sich offenbar auch für einen. Er sei vom Schlitten des Weihnachtsmanns gefallen, behauptet er. Ein durchgeknallter Spinner? Oder sagt er die Wahrheit? Mit Hilfe seines besten Freundes Simon will Gary das herausfinden. Dann taucht auch noch die Prostituierte Cherry auf, um Ihre Geschenke abzuholen. Als der Elf im Gegenzug für seine Freiheit jedem der drei einen Wunsch erfüllen will, gerät das Ganze außer Kontrolle. Ob die Träume in Erfüllung gehen? – „It’s not too late to save Christmas!” Eine clevere Weihnachtsfarce voller Sprachwitz und bitterböser Ironie. Anthony Neilson ist einer der interessantesten jungen britischen Dramatiker. Seine Stücke wurden auf dem Edinburgh Fringe Festival und im Londoner Royal Court Theatre mit großem Erfolg aufgeführt.
Characters
Cherry
…is a nasty piece of work. As Gary’s port of call for sexual favours, she is immersed knee-high not only in patent leather boots but also a shady world. But underneath the leopard-skin print beats a heart of gold full of motherly pride!
Real-life Angela, 33, has been involved in theatre projects in Germany and the UK for ten years. She is keen on contemporary works and worked at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. As a job, she organises large-scale events and sometimes hopes she wouldn’t… Her favourite line is: „Smoking can seriously damage your elf!”
Simon
is a fourty year old smart ass. Always cynical and ready to prove that the whole world is set up trying to fool him, all the while thinking he is fooling the world about his sexual preferences. But he stands firmly aside his best friend Gary and fiercely deploys his interrogative skills when Christmas Eve brings up yet another deceit…
Markus - 41, has been living in Heidelberg for eight years and works in the IT sector. His skills as a thespian have benefited productions by Idefix and ProVitheater. His favourite line: „I feel lighter, suddenly, freer than I’ve ever been!”
Gary
… might appear like a typical nice guy. He’d say he’s a businessman, sly enough to get blow jobs on credit sometimes. There is no cheaper place than Pricebreaker Warehouse and whatever you may think about Christmas: it’s a deal, it’s a steal – the bargain of the fucking century. However, he is terrified of his beloved ex-wife Lulu, who knows him through and through.
Michael “Benny” Schelhorn, studied in Heidelberg. He teaches English and German. At the moment he attends further training for drama teachers at the “Theaterwerkstatt Heidelberg”. Besides the TheSpians he does performances and plays with children and youths. He claims to be an indirect fifth generation student of the great and honourable Bruce Lee, and says that his Kung Fu is the best.
The Elf
What’s the difference between an elf and a junkie?! Well, to be honest … less than you might think! I talk little, but suffer a lot, having fallen off Santa’s sledge. See how oddly I behave, live on stage, and say funny things like “It’s not to late to save christmas!”
Steve Ayan (36) has ever since believed he was an elf – and now, finally, he get’s a chance to prove it! In real life (whatever that means) Steve works for a science magazine called »Gehirn&Geist« and is a trained psychologist. Would you believe that!?
Antoine
…took it upon himself to direct this play as something nice ‘n’ simple to embark on his career as a director. Little did he know that it would turn out to be rather difficult to work with a bunch of fools who swear like troopers. He’s now addicted to the directing pow(d)er and can’t wait for the next fix!
