Because of the unoriginality of DAP’s “Alt“, its predictability and the lack of any subthemes, this play, though not a failure, does not rise above the ordinary.
On Friday 10th October the German theatre group DAP performed their self-written play ”Alt” as part of the Studenten Theater Festival 2008. Part of the tradition of social theatre in Germany, the play was meant to give the viewer an insight in the abuses currently seen in German health care institutions. The play was performed by two actors (Ates Gürpinar & Daniel Rothenbücher) and two actresses (Sissi Seiler & Angela Beyerlein).
The setup of the stage was kept simple; two chairs, a hospital bed and a white screen on which English subtitles and short video footage were being displayed. Sissi Seiler convincingly portrayed a frustrated nurse in a home for the elderly, whereas Ates Gürpinar, Daniel Rothenbücher and Angela Beyerline played the role of three patients. Especially Seiler managed to present the audience a realistic portrayal and Gürpinar and Beyerline deserve praise for convincing acting as well. On the other hand, Rothenbücher failed to come across realistically as a result of his annoying shrieks and overacting.
The play, which had started off too educational with a powerpoint introduction on German health care, fortunately turned out to have a plot;A nurse who is in favour of extreme euthanasia is so frustrated by her stressful job that she is relieved to see her patients die one by one due to her neglect and bad care. The play’s theme is not very original and DAP did not enrich it by any subthemes, and did not always manage to steer clear of plain moralising. However, by a pleasant balance between monologues, silences and actions the young actors managed to catch the audience’s attention during the fifty minutes that it lasted.
Mcpengi Magazine 
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