BACK TO BASE

"Every country gets the show it deserves",

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explains moderator Hieronymus in his very own kind of "serious comedy" right at the beginning of the evening. That's why as a viewer you find yourself in the middle of another talent casting show at the same moment. The two directors Markus Pabst and Pierre Ceasar from the Artistenpool Base Berlin provided this framework for the completely new GOP production "Back to Base". 

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So Hieronymus is the moderator and chairman of the jury. With his always grumpy, coarse manner, he is in no way inferior to many TV colleagues.

After an initial irritation, Hieronymus quickly got the laughs and sympathies on his side. His magic, basically well-known numbers, also benefit from this unusual type of presentation. Due to Jerome's permanently bad mood, you actually want to run away, but at the same time you are immediately caught again by his pun. His card trick with the muzzle-wearing, white tiger duck is particularly weird. Daniel Forlano, Vanessa Baier, Hieronymus US comedian Daniel Forlano is the second juror, a rather introverted designer with an extroverted fashion taste: patterned pants, jacket with a floral motif and always Cap. Of course, it falls down all the time, and so Forlano is always busy putting his hat back on. Not with the hands, because they are mostly occupied, but as it should be for a comedian, with a lot of physical effort. Otherwise all kinds of inconveniences happened to him. When trying to feed a cat, about 16 books are in the way, which Forlano cleverly stacks along his leg, only to find that the cat is long dead under the book box. Forlano's rather subtle interludes, which can be seen for the first time on a German variety stage, are in stark contrast to the rough-looking appearances of Hieronymus, but both fit well into the concept - perhaps mainly because they come from the general plot break out. The third jury member is - as a "quota woman" - Vanessa Baier as an English-whispering wannabe super-model, whose superficial comments can no longer be surpassed. It's not only here that the makers of Base Berlin hardly leave out a cliché in their staging of a casting show and, despite (still) some lengths, mostly pull this genre through the cocoa very successfully, especially in the first part. The minutes after the break turn out to be particularly wonderful: all the misunderstood talents are shown almost in rapid succession, for whom it was not enough after all: from the glass harp player playing band music to a man with a wall stapler holding a balloon wants to shoot his wife and instead hits her silicone breasts. Wonderfully weird. Sven Böker and Vanessa Baier With all her acting talent, Vanessa Baier naturally focuses on the artistry. Her equilibristic solo, with which she practically opens “Back to Base”, has been rehearsed for the first time. Various handstands and poses are presented safely and elegantly. Acrobatics partner Sven Böker is also showing his own performance for the first time. Scarcely clad, with clear associations of red light, he goes on the straps and shows a pleasing number on this prop, in which he convinces above all with powerful upswings. Like the other actors, Sven Böker embodies a candidate from the casting show and so the staging for the joint acrobatics of Vanessa and Sven is quickly found: the juror ensnares the candidate. As the final number, the two celebrate their strong equilibrism with sustained applause from the scene, in which they play the leading role. Dressed in black and white and illustrated by colored theater fog, the result is subtle, wonderful images. Florian Blümmel, Elisabeth Schmidt, Bertan Canbeldek , Vanessa and Sven graduated from the Berlin Art School in 2010. Two other artists also come from there. What they all have in common is that they were each awarded the “springboard” as the best graduates in their final class. The latest winner is Andalousi Laghmich Elakel from this year's class. Bertan Canbeldek, who can bounce up to seven balls, juggles as a substitute. He also graduated in Berlin in 2010, two years before Elisabeth Schmidt. Your cloth presentation is simply perfect; with various poses (including handstands, splits) in quick succession and in the swing part with dynamic drops above the heads of the enthusiastic audience. There is also wonderful music, a beautiful costume and a lot of charisma from the artist. Excellent! - Last year there was quite rightly a prize for this in Wiesbaden, and another one could follow next year: Elisabeth Schmidt is invited to Monte Carlo with her number. The show makers have also found great actors outside of the Berlin artist school. For the first time ever, Florian Blümmel is on a vaudeville stage. The artificial cyclist actually comes from sport. Blümmel also masters his two-wheeler backwards, on one bike and even when he is on the bike. Michele Frances Clark, Duo Complice, Jade Lee Petersen

Célia Grelier and Fabian Milet have more experience as Duo Complice. On the Chinese mast, the game alternates between approach and repulsion, with common passages (synchronous poses or common falling away) and impressing in front of the other (pirouette, somersault on the mast). Only the change of costume and music within the number from classy to street outfit is a matter of taste. The South African Jade Lee Petersen was discovered with his incredible twisting skills on the Internet, on videos of the local McLaren Circus. Now Petersen is also in the artist pool of Base Berlin and has redesigned his number there, now appears in a rococo skirt, like a spider web that he repeatedly builds into his characters. The part in which he - lying on his forearms in a handstand - lets his legs circle around his own body at high speed is simply sensational. A real discovery! The same applies to Michele Frances Clark from the USA. She presents one of the most extraordinary and strongest Hula Hoop numbers in a long time. Elements from dance and contact juggling as well as the actual tricks of the genre are combined and result in a completely new type of presentation.

With “Back To Base”, the makers ironically prove what is also quickly evident in the TV castings: you don't really need all the trappings, the performance of the actors usually speaks for itself. And so it is the wonderful comedy of two contrary characters and the grandiose artistry of the best German youngsters and many interesting discoveries that make the show strong.

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Direction: Pierre Caesar & Markus Pabst

Show duration: approx. 2 hours including a break

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A production by GOP showconcept in cooperation with More Promotion and kind support from BASE BERLIN. Subject to changes.