Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

...especially when they are as bright as such an evening!

Immer wenn du denkst es geht nicht mehr... Ein komischer Liederabend
(Every time you think it is all over... A funny recital)

Logensaal in den Hamburger Kammerspielen, Hamburg, 3rd March, 2012

With Mario Saccoccio & Benjamin Beckmann
Pianist: Michael Ashton

"Simon and Flo meet on a swing. One of them wants to find his true love, the other one wants to kill himself.
Soon it is clear none of them gets what they want. But what is that actually? Life? What does that mean? How does it work? On a chaotic journey none of the two notices, that two little monster are ambushing them which have their own plans...

This restless, bizarre and poetic recital is especially about searching. Apparently erratic. For friendship, recognition, appreciation, fame and love; in short: life. But especially then, when the search seems most pointless, life shows its utter beauty."

That was the information given on the theatre's website. Okay, ít sounded interesting.

I "had to" go anyway, could not miss the wonderful Mario Saccoccio in something else than a Schmidt Theater show so on Saturday evening I was off to the Logensaal - a nice small place with tables and four chairs at each which looked perfect for the event.

A piano on the left, a swing, two bright green IKEA kids' chairs, some items as jackets, an artificial leg, two oversized blue card boards with a rectangular holes and the word chat on them hanging on hooks at the back of the stage – that was what you got to see prior the show.

The show started with what I thought was the best scene of the whole evening, not that the rest was not as much fun. It was a scene with a song about facebook and listening to the lyrics performed so well by Mario and Benjamin you notice how much facebook has taken over the ordinary life of a lot of people and their actions – and vocabularies.

Each of the two characters is at home alone on a Friday evening (so much about having 503 virtual friends ;-) ) and somehow Simon and Flo end up chatting to each other despite not being “friends”. Flo (Mario), looking for a love date, and Simon (Benjamin), looking for a suicide date, decide to meet up thinking the other one talks about what each is looking for. The ideas the two came up were so fantastic, using e.g. the card boards giving impressions of profile pictures, their current status, who is currently the one chatting etc. It had me in stitches as especially Mario could show off what an incredible comic timing he has.

It moves on with the two then actually meeting at the swing: Flo, equipped with an autograph book (jeez, hadn’t heard of these since a little kid), and Simon, equipped with a bottle of poison and a weapon. Flo is thinking that this is a proper date offers Simon some chocolate pralines singing about these (melody was some old Schlager (traditional German-language pop music), usually for all numbers some old songs were recycled with new lyrics though that was done so formidably and played commandingly by the pianist Michael Ashton) but has to face that Simon is actually just there to commit suicide with him. He tries to convince him then that he shouldn’t do it as “every time you think it is all over…” using phrases about a car on a motorway, car crashes, traffic jams, no petrol anymore etc. but there is always some hope and the next service station where you could have a break – and a sausage in a roll! ;-)

It seems that after a while Flo could stop Simon even though they are still quarreling. There is this moment when the two say exactly the same lines, Mario in the most campest way, Benjamin in the most depressive way, so funny.

They get their act together and Flo asks Simon about his reasons for his suicide wish and what dreams he has that might stop him but all Simon dreams of his being dead as life is such a disappointment singing about the different disappointments everyone has to face during their life. Benjamin has a beautiful emotional voice, a bit quiet and not as voluminous as Mario, but touching and lovely. So Flo is rubbing it in what a disappointment it would be for the kids who would want to use the swing the following day but would not be able due to Simon committing suicide. They suddenly reminisce about how it was when they were kids wearing some ridiculous too small jackets and baseball caps teasing people in the audience and singing about ice cream. A few more memories are coming alive onstage about things happening in their both lives as failed loves (Benjamin giving you a young Britney Spears impression and Mario and Benjamin singing a swell ballad about it showing off the can do romance too), trips to the psychotherapist Regina Regenbogen (Regina Rainbow ;-) – Mario with a ridiculous wig) and the artificial leg “Britta”) from the USA of Simon’s mother (a song based on Barry Manilow’s “Mandy”) or just Flo’s best poems in his autograph book (as a song about a tit bird couple – as said the ideas they came up with were hilarious).

Act 2 got a bit too silly for me occasionally though somehow I had expected it with the text above. I did not get too much the point of the little glove puppets Mandy and Candy. Yes, they were cute and their opening act was funny and entertainingly performed (though I occasionally had problems since it was done with Mario and Benjamin hiding behind the with a black drape covered swing to understand Benjamin properly as he just missed the volume) I just think the story could have found the same ending without them as it was apparently them getting the two together at the end.

There was also a few scenes when they were illustrating kind of normal life scenes with pop music from the tape which were done delightfully with an eye to detail (one funny scene is in which a bee is killed by one of the two and the other appearing onstage dressed as a bee looking for the lost bee child, another with the song “don’t worry be happy” in the background, Mario as some Italian tourist trying to take a picture and Benjamin in various roles constantly disturbing him) which while were nice to watch seemed a bit like a filler as the people portrayed were not the two protagonists but others. I would have liked it to be actually them giving more in-depth details about their lives. But that is just me being nitpicking. ;-)

The last one of these scenes ends with Flo coming onstage with a large red stuffed heart he wants to give to Simon as a present who refuses first. But during the following number singing about what a heart can do and reflecting on their short history together they actually want to give a shot and each other’s hearts ending with an indicated kiss behind the cushion. Awwwwww. The puppets return singing that “all you need is love” and then Flo and Simon want to celebrate with Flo is off to get something to eat and drink. Unfortunately destiny strikes then again, all you hear is some squeaking car tyres and rattling and Simon is faced that you should, even if you have lost everything you should “hold on to love”. Wow, what a show.

I cannot praise enough the two guys. Especially Mario impressed me even more than ever before and anyone knowing how much I adored him in the shows he did last summer will know that could hardly be beat. His comic timing is just one of the most perfect I have seen for a looooooooong time and totally utilising his camp charm and the charisma he has. Benjamin is totally adorable as the depressed Simon. Vocally a bit weak, especially next to the strong Mario, but he has a beautiful voice and acts for dear life.

Supported perfectly well by the pianist this evening was a fantastic treat. Can I please have more of such events?