Pleasant Days

It is 2030. After the fall of the European Union, we are the witnesses of a Greek tragedy taking place in Germany. Peter, the young Greek immigrant is just out of jail. Upon his return home, a big secret is waiting for him. His sister bought a baby born to a young, German girl who was in big trouble. The child was born outside of a marriage. Peter’s sister believes that through this purchase she can provide herself happiness, as well as legal papers.

Pleasant Days is a proletarian operetta. It is the musical version of Kornél Mundruczó’s first feature film, with elements of science fiction.

"Destiny has reached our ouzo spirited neighbours. Greece is out of the EU, together with some other B-category racers. Europe is divided into two parts, and the expelled countries are trying their best to get back into the beloved capitalism." (Hans-Christoph Zimmermann - trailer-ruhr.de)

"On the stage there is a huge cage. The actors inside are locked up. Europe is divided into two parts. Schengen Agreement belongs to the past. Those who live up North cannot simply travel to the South, and it is true the other way as well. Borders don’t just exist in their heads. They can be seen very well, and are high and impossible to cross. It is 2031. We pay with German Marks which are called: New German Marks." (Sarah Heppekausen - nachtkritik.de)

"Mundruczó’s actors are playing hyper realistically and close to the audience. They address them from time to time and they ask for their help. Their gestures are often frightening, but they have nothing to do with interactive theatre. (…) Violence, sex and physical brutality are put on stage through characters who want to live instinctively, who want to survive, just like animals. His actors are playing with full strength and humour. (…) In the acting style of the Oberhausen ensemble, jokes and brutality appear as well, but this piece is quite different from the usual style of the director, you could say that it is Mundruczó-light. (…) The audience is addressed only at the very end of the play, after a witty turn in the story. Peter, the Greek criminal is afraid of the fearful invasion of the extra-terrestrials. The performers, wearing UFO masks, step up to the fence and turn to the audience while asking: Is anybody out there? At this point we cannot be certain if we are the ones experiencing the invasion or not. (...)
The final picture is shocking: The extra-terrestrials, gazing at us through the fence, actually are not from this universe. Instead they are meant to represent the migrants of tomorrow." (Arnold Hohmann - derwesten.de)

"It is a dark play that makes it obvious for us how dynamically we hurry into agony. The performance shocks us, and to comprehend its complexity and density, one is advised to see it several times. At the end of the play, the audience will be cheering, applauding and staying for a long time in the theatre building." (Michael S. Zerban - opernnetz.de)