Robbers' Hands is the story of a very special friendship between two youths; a friendship which is put to a severe test. The production finds convincing ways to convey the countless breaks, time jumps of several years, and changes of location between Germany and Istanbul. Without much ado the two actors and the actress move back and forth between the interior and exterior world of the story. Earlier events are called up in rapid flashbacks as if they were happening in the present. Dramatic scenes come up against individual story-telling sequences. Hard cuts break the scenes and give the production its rhythm. Gradually the puzzle comes together for the audiences: the facts of the story which have led to their friendship being changed forever.
The tight bond between Janik and Samuel is told on stage mainly with very physical means. They lean on one another, they dance together, they turn and run away from each other in front of each other’s faces. They stay silent together, they laugh together, they talk at the same time and scream at each other. As their conflict grows even greater it becomes impossible for them to restore their intimacy. We watch them as they struggle to retain their countenance and to be understood by the other. Time cannot be turned back even when both of them long for it. You can almost grasp their desperation with your hands.
Robbers' Hands is an intensive, moving actors’ show with great scenes, dialogue and clearly staged images that get under the skin. Above all the constantly repeated key scene (in slight variations), hits the nerve of the audience. The director Anne Lenk succeeds in convincingly staging a complex story with all its nuances, facets and changes of tempo. The major questions facing adolescents are dealt with in a precise, serious, light handed and humorous manner: Where do I come from? Where do I belong? What do I want in life? And who or what do I need to get by? In the course of the show the characters’ questions become those of the audience and this achievement is mainly due to the magnificent ensemble.
