IkUM (Ingelheimer Kultur und Marketing GmbH) was able to secure the renowned video artist Haegar Deutsch for the two performances at kING. The multimedia professional had already turned the award-winning IkUM performance ‘Upside Down’ into a magnificent experience with his fascinating ‘live visuals’.
The play ‘Alles Carl? – Alles Karl!’ premiered in August in the Aula regia as part of the Zuckmayer Year 2025. The audience was completely thrilled. Following its great success, there will now be an ‘encore’ at a different venue. Multimedia installations in the kING will create a historical backdrop that will transport the audience straight into the history of Rheinhessen. Projections on the stage, a reconstruction of the Kaisersaal and a circular horizon with historical images will take the theatre audience on a spectacular journey back in time.
‘Following the production in the historic setting of the Aula Regia, the kING now offers completely new possibilities,’ announces Jan Miller, Head of Marketing at IkUM. ‘The leaps between times and worlds, which the play written especially for Ingelheim deliberately plays with, can be reinterpreted and staged once again in the large hall of the kING.’ Audiences can look forward to a breathtaking performance with socio-political relevance and astonishing topicality.
‘Alles Carl? – Alles Karl!’ is staged as ‘community theatre,’ with professionals from the renowned ZEITGEIST ensemble in Mainz sharing the stage with amateur actors. In the play by Claudia Wehner (author and director) and Thilo Zetzmann (composer and arranger), two historical Carls/Karls meet: the Rhine-Hessian author Carl Zuckmayer and the Franconian Emperor Charlemagne. The performances in the Aula regia not only captivated the audience, but also thrilled the ensemble. ‘It was a very special experience for all of us to be able to perform at the historic location in the Aula regia,’ says director Claudia Wehner, looking back on the performances. ‘The atmosphere of the place was magical, and we took some great photos. We all had a lot of fun during the performances, and the audience's response and enthusiasm were overwhelming.’ Claudia Wehner promises the audience at the December performances ‘an entertaining evening of theatre, where you will learn many surprising things about the two Karls and be amazed at how much of it is still relevant to us today.’
The ZEIGEIST ensemble, based at the Mainzer Kammerspiele, has existed in this form since 1999. At that time, actor Achim Stellwagen founded an ensemble whose focus is entertaining musical theatre with historical content. By 2019, there had been eleven thematic ZEITGEIST revues and around 20 other special events with more than 200,000 guests. Since 2021, the ensemble has only been staging special ZEITGEIST revues on special occasions.
The Museum at the Imperial Palace is an important cooperation partner in the production, having been involved from the outset and contributing its historical expertise. ‘Zuckmayer's “Schinderhannes” was performed in Ober-Ingelheim in 1928 and 1952,’ reports Dr. Nicole Nieraad-Schalke, deputy museum director. Numerous amateur actors from Ingelheim took part in the performances, which were attended by the author himself. The current theatre project by IkUM continues this tradition. ‘The museum was involved throughout the rehearsal and performance process and was able to answer spontaneous questions about medieval clothing, instruments and other props,’ explains Dr Nicole Nieraad-Schalke. ‘It was a unique experience to be on stage with the professional actors of the Mainz ZEITGEIST ensemble, including musical performer Dennis Johnson, and to be surrounded behind the scenes by highly professional participants (technology, costumes, make-up),’ enthuses the deputy director of the museum. ‘It is fascinating how, within twelve months, a major cultural project has been created that reveals how historical research, local stage tradition and professional contemporary theatre work can be successfully brought together.’
Tickets for both performances will be available from 28 September 2025 at www.ikum-ingelheim.de/events/allescarl-alles-karl, at the Ingelheim Tourist Information Office, Binger Straße 16, and at all Ticket Regional advance booking offices.
