Kommentare - Frederick

Heppenheim. "A long time ago..." is how he begins the story of the field mouse family, which most children will already know from reading aloud. The little ones look amazed when magnificent flowers suddenly bloom on the stage and the stone wall comes into view - and laughter when different animal noises are played in the background. Two mice in checked knickerbockers, with long tails and some ears that are worn in a rather unconventional way, are playing hide and seek. What could be better for small children than playing hash-me-me on the stage, where they all know where the protagonists are, but they are in the dark. It was wonderful to see how the children roared with laughter when one mouse pulled the other's tail. Other small spectators stood with their mouths open and red cheeks and followed the action with clenched little fists. Oh, how exciting it was! The adults among the 130 spectators at the children's theater event by Forum Kultur often didn't know what was better: what was happening on stage or watching the audience so enthralled. "There he is!" the children shout at the top of their voices when one of the mice tries to catch a butterfly. Nobody cares that the mouse itself moves the fluttering animal with a wire and that you can see it. It is not important to the children. Their imagination does not see wires, it sees a summer meadow with butterflies. The storyteller reports that the field mouse family gathers supplies in the autumn for the approaching winter, because the farmer has moved away and the granaries are empty. Everyone eagerly collects corn kernels, transports them on straws, and looks for nuts and straw. Everyone? No, Frederick seems to just be sitting around. "Why don't you help?" the mice want to know. But Frederick is by no means idle: "I collect rays of sunshine for the cold winter days," he explains. A boy in the audience asks his parents: "How can the mouse do that?" The parents look perplexed, but luckily the play continues on stage. The son doesn't have time to wait for an answer. Lucky for him. Another slapstick scene follows so that the children aren't overwhelmed by Frederick's philosophizing. That's what makes the production special: the producers are aware that they are dealing with small children from the age of four, some were much younger. And they have to be kept on the hook for the whole 45 minutes. And the two actors, who slip into the different roles, do this very well. There are repeated scenes where you can laugh heartily and shout out loud. You don't always have to sit still. So Frederick continues to collect colors and Leo Lionni's words. And in winter, when supplies are used up, the family is happy that Frederick shortens the wait for spring with his stories, colors and the warmth of the sun's rays. Parents and children happily applauded the successful piece and marched out of the hall to soak up some sunshine themselves.

GELNHAUSEN. A little mouse and a whole book full of stories - how the most poetic mouse in the world inspires its audience. "Frederick, the most poetic mouse in the world", known from Leo Lionni's picture book, was invited to Meerholz by the "Druschke bookshop and tea room". There, the little mouse presented himself with two male and female friends in a well-attended barn to many pre-school and primary school children who had come with their mothers and grandmothers. Most of them laughed and were amazed when an old mouse grandpa entered the stage, bent over, with a thick book and large glasses, awkwardly hoisted himself into an armchair and finally made contact with the audience, seemingly shy and with lots of grimaces. But four of the very youngest, around three years old, were afraid of the figure and started to cry. The others, on the other hand, were thoroughly amused when the old little mouse began to tell a story about five little field mice. They lived in a barn and enjoyed the summer. The mice were played by the actors Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz, who, although there were only two of them, took on all six roles. The scenes from Lionni's picture book were brought to life on stage in a dynamic way, with lots of facial expressions and gestures, but with only reduced language. Some of the scenes took place only backstage, but with the appropriate background noise. Whether the little mice were playing hide-and-seek, gathering supplies for the winter, or marching with bamboo tubes on their shoulders as rifles, their activities always caused outbursts of hilarity. The audience, young and old, were doubled over with laughter. Only Frederick the mouse was an outsider. Instead of raging, he preferred to bury his nose in books. Instead of nuts, straw and pumpkins, he preferred to collect sunbeams, colors and words for the long winter, which only caused his colleagues to shake their heads disdainfully. But when the cold winter came and the mice, who had long since used up all their supplies, were sitting freezing in their barn, Frederick gave them the warm rays of sunshine that he had collected during the summer. He also delighted them with the colors and with a poem about the four seasons, the spring mouse, the summer mouse, the autumn mouse and the winter mouse. "Wow, Frederick, you're a poet," his friends exclaimed in amazement. "I know I'm a poet," the old mouse confirmed at the end of the performance and fell asleep in his chair. "Wake up, wake up!" demanded the young audience. Old Frederick stood up and accepted the well-deserved applause together with young Frederick, as did all the other mice who scurried across the stage one after the other. At the end, the actors presented themselves "mouse-free" and thanked the audience. Actors Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz from Hofheim in Lower Franconia have been working together under the name "pohyb's and consorts" since 2004. The name comes from "pohyb" and means movement in Slovak, because movement, slapstick, lively facial expressions and gestures are essential elements of their theater, the Slovak explained in a conversation with GT. "We tour abroad a lot and our stories should be understandable without many words," his partner explained the concept. Gelnhäuser Tagblatt (cra)

Laupheim. ...Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz, who form the children's theater pohyb's and consorts as a duo, beautifully stage the well-known mouse story. Pohyb is Slovakian and means movement. And there was plenty of movement, slapstick and acrobatics for the more than 90 children from various kindergartens. The two artists played the story from the perspective of an old mouse, who keeps telling the mouse children in the evenings about Frederick, the "poet mouse". They masterfully understood how to portray the goings-on of the field mice on the old stone wall in a humorous, noisy and pantomimic way. It was amazing how many different mice, represented by just two people, romped around on the stage. And in between there was always Frederick, who doesn't collect food supplies, but absorbs the rays of sunshine and collects colors and words for the cold winter days. The children enthusiastically supported and commented on what was happening on stage. The mice galloped back to the kindergartens. Schwäbische Zeitung (sz)

GELNHAUSEN-MEERHOLZ. With beaming smiles on their faces, numerous children enjoyed a great afternoon in the Honzen barn. With a cheerful "Hoppa, hoppa" on their lips and a beaming smile on their faces, numerous children enjoyed a great afternoon in the Honzen barn yesterday. Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz from the mobile theater "Pohyb's" took the youngsters on a fantastic journey through the story of "Frederick, the most poetic mouse in the world". Once upon a time there was a stone wall on a green meadow," began "Old Frederick" the story of five happy field mice who lived together. They passed the time with jokes and games of hide and seek, only Frederick was different because he liked to read books... Leo Lionni's famous story about the little mouse turned 30 last year and has thrilled several generations of children. But to continue with the text: While the other field mice worked, little Frederick preferred to collect sunbeams, colors and words, which he then used to get his friends through the hardest time of the year in the harsh winter. Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz were particularly good at getting the children to laugh enthusiastically or scream with joy with their jokes and slapstick. The fight with a bamboo stick in which a mouse finger got stuck caused great amusement. The little ones soon joined in with the "Hoppa, hoppa" with which the mice encouraged each other. And they hardly needed any words; instead, their play lived from impressive gestures and perfect facial expressions. "We had a lot of fun and both children and adults liked it," said Maike Jansen, who has been a duo with Stefan Ferencz since 2004. “Pohyb" means 'movement' in my language," added her Slovakian partner, who graduated as a mime artist in Essen in 1994. Jansen began her career with an apprenticeship with the well-known Swiss clown Dimitri. With their performances, the two actors not only provide entertaining entertainment, but also make the world of children's books and reading by themselves or aloud appealing to the young Gelnhäuser Neue Zeitung (jol)

BISCHOFSHEIM. Children's theater Actors' duo slip into the roles of rodents. The field mice gave their guest performance. The children's theater "pohyb's & konsorten" performed two performances in the community center. The bookstore "Hits für Kids" in Gustavsburg and the cultural administration had cooperated and hired the theater production from Hofheim. The acting duo Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz brought the popular children's book by Leo Lionni and his poetic mouse to life. To do this, they chose a stage set that directly referred to the imagery in the book. The central point is the wall of the granary, where everything necessary for the winter is stored. The farmers' fruits of the fields and the mice's everything that can be hoarded. Only Frederick the mouse wants nothing to do with edible supplies and catches rays of sunshine, colors or words to bridge the gray and cold winter. The two actors turn this poetic parable into reduced stage actions in which little is said. The silent play, the music and the image are all the more important. The narrative is slowed down, and there is great trust in the power of non-verbal action. A long time passes before the first sentence is spoken. The aged mouse Frederick leafs through a book in which he finds the experiences from earlier times that are then told. These are slapstick episodes in which the mice chase each other, catch the sun's rays in a strange way or work as a team to lift a heavy pumpkin into the air. Language is hardly used, but rather onomatopoeia or invented words. It is clear that the two actors have experience in street theater. The physical effort is enormous, the actions are meticulously refined down to the smallest gesture. And how does the Bischofsheim audience, who came from schools and daycare centers, react to this rather abstract narrative style that relies on the poetic effect of sounds, noises and pantomimic actions? At least in the second performance we attended, it was surprisingly concentrated. Because of the concentrated acting, it remained completely silent, only when reactions were required did the young Bischofsheimers appear wide awake and act as a very lively theater audience. The story and the lovingly designed costumes as well as some surprising stage effects completely captivated them. MZ; AZ, U. von Mengden

Bonndorf. ...With "pohyb's and consorts" an excellent theater duo performed in front of more than 200 children in the Paulinenheim on Tuesday and staged the story of the famous story mouse using simple means in front of a cleverly versatile backdrop. The audience was delighted by the physical acting of the actors, as Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz showed both serious and clownish acting. The artist duo did not need excessive volume to captivate their audience. Gentle accordion sounds or glockenspiels were also enough to enhance the effect. Girls and boys followed the play on stage in complete silence, literally, and thus provided impressive proof that children can still be entertained with skillful theater. Loud noises or sensational horror scenarios are not always necessary to stimulate the imagination. Badische Zeitung, Martha Weishaar