Comments—Frederick

Heppenheim. "A long time ago..." is how he begins to tell the story of the field mouse family, which most of the children probably already know from reading aloud. Astonished faces from the little ones when suddenly magnificent flowers blossom on the stage, the stone wall comes into view - and laughter when different animal noises are played in the background. Two mice in checkered knickers, with long tails and sometimes rather unconventionally worn ears are playing hide and seek. What could be nicer for young children than hash-me-games on stage, where they all know where the protagonists are, but they are groping in the dark. It was wonderful to see the children roaring with laughter as one mouse pulled the other by the tail. Other small spectators stood with open mouths and red cheeks and followed the action with clenched little fists. Oh, that was exciting! The adults among the 130 spectators at the Forum Kultur children's theater event often didn't know what was nicer: what was happening on the stage or watching the audience so carried away. “There it is!” the children shout at the top of their lungs when one of the mice tries to catch a butterfly. It doesn't bother anyone that the mouse itself moves the fluttering animal with a wire and that you can see it. It doesn't matter to the kids. Your imagination doesn't see wires, it sees a summer meadow with butterflies. The storyteller reports that in autumn the field mouse family collects supplies for the approaching winter, because the farmer has moved away and the granaries are empty. Eagerly collect all the corn kernels, transport them on straws, look for nuts and straw. All? No, Frederick just seems to 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. In the audience, a boy asks his parents: "How can the mouse do that?" The parents look helpless, fortunately the stage continues. The son has no time to wait for an answer. lucky. Another slapstick scene follows so as not to overwhelm the children with Frederick's philosophizing. That's what makes the production so special: The creators are aware that they are dealing with small children from the age of four, some were significantly younger. And you have to keep it up for the entire 45 minutes. And the two actors, who slip into the different roles, succeed very well. Again and again there are scenes where you can laugh heartily and call in. You don't always have to sit still. So Frederick continues to collect colors and Leo Lionni's words. And in winter, when the supplies are gone, the family is happy that Frederick shortens their wait for spring with his stories, the colors and the warmth of the sun's rays. Parents and children happily applauded the successful piece and marched out of the hall building to soak up the rays of sunshine themselves.

GELNHAUSEN. A 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 a guest in Meerholz at the invitation of the "Buchhandlung und Teestubb Druschke". There the little mouse presented himself with two friends in a well-frequented barn to many children of pre-school and primary school age, who had come together with their mothers and grandmothers. Most of them laughed and were amazed when an old mouse grandfather entered the stage bent over with a thick book and large glasses, heaved himself awkwardly into an armchair and, apparently shy and with many grimaces, finally made contact with the audience. But four of the very youngest, around three years old, got scared of the figure and started crying. The others, on the other hand, had a great time when the old mouse began to tell a story about five little field mice. They lived in a field barn and enjoyed the summer. The mice were embodied by the actors Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz, who, although there were only two of them, took on all six roles. Dynamic, with a lot of facial expressions and gestures, but only with reduced language, the scenes from Lionni's picture book were implemented on stage. Some things only took place behind the stage, but with a corresponding background noise. Whether the little mice were playing hide-and-seek, collecting supplies for the winter, or marching with bamboo tubes on their shoulders as rifles, their activities always caused outbursts of hilarity. The spectators, big and small, burst out laughing. Only mouse Frederick was an outsider. Instead of raging, he preferred to stick his nose in books. Instead of nuts, straw and pumpkins, he preferred to collect rays of sunshine, colors and words for the long winter, which only evoked a dismissive shake of the head from his colleagues. However, when the cold winter came and the mice, who had long since used up all the supplies, sat freezing in their field barn, Frederick gave them the warming rays of the sun that he had collected in the summer. He also made her happy 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 astonishment. "I know that I am a poet," the old mouse confirmed at the end of the performance and fell asleep in his chair. “Wake up, wake up!” demanded the little viewers. Old Frederick stood up and took a well-deserved round of applause along with young Frederick, as did all the other mice that scurried across the stage one by one. At the end, the actors presented themselves "unmausel" and thanked the audience. The actors Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz from Hofheim in Lower Franconia have been working together under the name "pohyb's und kon sorten" since 2004. The name comes from "pohyb" and means movement in Slovakian, because movement, slapstick, lively facial expressions and gestures are essential elements of their theater, the Slovakian explained in an interview with GT. "We tour abroad a lot and our stories should be understandable without many words," his partner explained the concept. Gelnhauser Tagblatt (cra)

Laupheim. ...The well-known mouse story is beautifully staged by Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz, who form the children's theater pohyb's and co. as a duo. Pohyb is Slovak and means movement. And there was plenty of movement, slapstick and acrobatics for the more than 90 children from various kindergartens. The two artists acted out the story from the perspective of an old mouse, who kept telling the mice children about Frederick, the “poet mouse” in the evenings. They knew how to masterfully depict the activities of the field mice on the old stone wall in a funny, noisy and pantomime manner. Amazing how many different mice, represented by only two people, cavorted on the stage. And in between, Frederick again and again, who doesn't collect food supplies, but absorbs the sun's rays and collects colors and words for the cold winter days. The children enthusiastically supported and commented on what was happening on stage. In a mouse gallop we went back to the kindergartens. Swabian newspaper (sz)

GELNHAUSEN-MEERHOLZ. With beaming smiles on their faces, numerous children experienced a great afternoon in the Honzen barn. With a cheerful "Hoppa, hoppa" on their lips and beaming smiles on their faces, many children had a great afternoon yesterday in the Honzen barn. Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz from the Pohyb's mobile theater 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 in a green meadow”, “Old Frederick” began the story of five happy field mice who lived together. They passed the time with jokes and playing hide-and-seek, only Frederick was different, because he liked to read books... The famous story of Leo Lionni about the little mouse turned 30 last year and inspired several generations of children. But further on in the text: While the other field mice were working, little Frederick preferred to collect rays of sunshine, colors and words, with which he would then bring 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 happily with their jokes and slapstick interludes. The fight with a bamboo stick in which a mouse finger got stuck caused great amusement. The little ones quickly crowed the "Hoppa, hoppa" with which the mice cheered each other on. And they hardly needed any words, instead their game lived on impressive gestures and perfect facial expressions. "We had a lot of fun, that both children and adults liked it," said Maike Jansen, who has been in a duo with Stefan Ferencz since 2004. "Pohyb" means 'movement' in my language," added her Slovakian partner, who graduated in 1994 in Essen as a pantomime. Jansen began her career by training 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 aloud palatable for the youngsters Gelnhäuser Neue Zeitung (jol)

BISCHOFSHEIM. Children's theater duo of actors slip into the roles of rodents. The field mice gave their guest performance. For two performances, the children's theater "pohyb's & consorts" guested in the community center. The bookstore "Hits for Kids" in Gustavsburg and the cultural administration had cooperated and hired the theater production from Hofheim. The actor duo Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz brought the popular children's book by Leo Lionni and his poetic mouse to life. For this they chose a stage design that referred directly to the imagery in the book. Centrally, then, is the wall to the granary, where everything necessary for the winter is stored. From the farmers the fruits of the fields and from the mice everything that can be hoarded. Only the mouse Frederick doesn't want anything to do with edible supplies and captures the sun's rays, colors or words to bridge the gray and cold winter season. The two actors translate this poetic parable into reduced stage actions in which little is said. In return, the silent game, the music, the image gain in importance. The narration is slower, the trust in the power of non-verbal action is great. It takes a long time before the first sentence is spoken. The aged mouse Frederick leafs through a book in which he finds the experiences from earlier times that will be told from now on. These are slapstick-like episodes in which the mice chase each other, catch the sun's rays in a curious way or work as a team to lift a rocky pumpkin into the air. There is hardly any use of language, rather onomatopoeia or invented words. It is noticeable that the two actors have experience in street theatre. The physical effort is enormous, the actions are precisely polished down to the smallest gesture. And how does the Bischofsheim audience, who came from the schools and day care centers, react to this rather abstract narrative style, which relies on the poetic effect of sounds, sounds and pantomime actions? At least in the second performance that was attended, it was surprisingly concentrated. Because of the concentrated way of playing, it remained as quiet as a mouse, only when reactions were required did the young people from Bischofsheim 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 cast a spell over them. MZ; AZ, U. von Mengden

Bonndorf. ...With "pohyb's and friends" an excellent theater duo made a guest appearance in front of more than 200 children in the Paulinenheim on Tuesday and staged the story of the famous story mouse with simple means in front of a cleverly versatile backdrop. The audience was enthusiastic about the physical play of the actors, as Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz show both serious and clownesque play. The artist duo didn't need excessive volume to captivate their audience. Here and there delicate accordion sounds or glockenspiel are enough as an effect amplifier. Girls and boys follow the spectacle on stage in the truest sense of the word as quietly as a mouse and thus provide impressive proof that children can still be entertained with the help of skilful theater. Loud noise or sensational horror scenarios are not always necessary to stimulate the imagination. Badische Zeitung, Martha Weishaar