Die Mayenspieler
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| Founded | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Members | 20 (as of 2026) |
| Legal form | Registered association (eingetragener Verein) |
| Member of | Landesverband Amateurtheater Rheinland-Pfalz |
| Location | |
| Headquarters | Q516611 |
| Country | Germany |
| Links | |
| Website | mayenspieler.de |
| Social media | Facebook · Instagram |
Die Mayenspieler e. V. is an amateur theatre group based in Mayen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.[1] It grew out of the speaking chorus of an open-air Genoveva production in Mayen in 1981 and has staged at least one production almost every year since 1982, alternating between comedies, classics, crime plays and pieces for children.[2][3]
History
The group's origins lie in the revival of the Genoveva play, based on the legend of Genevieve of Brabant, at the foot of the Genovevaburg in Mayen. In this production professional actors took the main roles, while local amateurs formed a speaking chorus in the manner of a Greek tragedy; this chorus became the nucleus of the later Mayenspieler.[4] According to a 2017 newspaper report, the chorus, made up solely of Mayen residents, formed an amateur group after the 1981 performance, from which the Mayenspieler emerged; the name was chosen to express the group's connection with the town.[2] The group's first production, Die tolle Katrin, was staged in May 1982.[5]
The group describes itself as having developed from Mayen "lay players" into an amateur stage. It celebrated an anniversary with a ceremony at Mayen town hall in May 2011.[1] After the March 2020 production, the group paused for three years because of the COVID-19 pandemic and returned in March 2023 with two productions.[6][7] In January 2026 the regional press reported that the group was in the 45th year of its existence.[8]
Repertoire
The group deliberately changes genre from one production to the next, moving between children's and youth plays, comedies, serious and classical drama, monologues and crime plays.[1] Since 2023 it has usually staged two productions per season, a comedy and a crime play or thriller, each with about five performances in February and March.[7][9]
| Year | Title | Author | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Die tolle Katrin | Erika Schmidt-Sackersdorf, after William Shakespeare | First production; after The Taming of the Shrew |
| 1983 | Kellergäste | Rud. Guder | Crime farce |
| 1984 | Die Prinzessin auf der Erbse | Wolfgang Rapp, after Hans Christian Andersen | The Princess and the Pea; with dancers of a local ballet school |
| 1985 | Der Geist von Meuchelwitz | Wolfgang Rapp | Ghost comedy |
| 1986 | Die Abenteuer des braven Bertoldo | Commedia dell'arte piece | |
| 1987 | Ich bin begeistert | Noël Coward | Blithe Spirit |
| 1987 | Messer Pomposo de Frascati | Alois Johannes Lippl | Commedia dell'arte comedy |
| 1988 | Die Schneekönigin | after Hans Christian Andersen | The Snow Queen |
| 1989 | Hier sind Sie richtig | Marc Camoletti | |
| 1990 | Der kleine Prinz | after Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | The Little Prince |
| 1991 | Mirandolina | Carlo Goldoni | The Mistress of the Inn |
| 1992 | Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank | Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett | The Diary of Anne Frank |
| 1993 | Der Teufel mit den drei goldenen Haaren | Stefan Baumeister and Dieter Höcker, after the Brothers Grimm | The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs |
| 1994 | Der zerbrochne Krug | Heinrich von Kleist | The Broken Jug |
| 1994 | Kein Recht auf Liebe | Three short plays; the last of them was performed repeatedly at various places until 2000 | |
| 1995 | Bezahlt wird nicht | Dario Fo | Can't Pay? Won't Pay!; in the Burggärten as part of the Burgfestspiele Mayen |
| 1995 | Der lasterhafte Eunuch | Terence | Eunuchus |
| 1996 | Konrad oder das Kind aus der Konservenbüchse | Christine Nöstlinger | Play for children and young people |
| 1996 | Wenn du geredet hättest, Desdemona | Christine Brückner | Two monologues; repeated in 1998 on the Kleine Bühne in the Burggärten |
| 1997 | Draußen vor der Tür | Wolfgang Borchert | The Man Outside |
| 1998 | Der nackte Wahnsinn | Michael Frayn | Noises Off |
| 1999 | Die Eule und das Kätzchen | The Owl and the Pussycat; one performance in the Haus der Jugend | |
| 1999 | Peterchens Mondfahrt | after Gerdt von Bassewitz | Play for children |
| 2001 | Der kleine Prinz | after Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | Second production of the play after 1990 |
| 2002 | Ein Inspektor kommt | J. B. Priestley | An Inspector Calls |
| 2003 | …die Ente bleibt draußen | Loriot | Sketches; in the new venue in Sankt Johann, also on the Kleine Bühne in Mayen |
| 2004 | Love Letters | A. R. Gurney | Love Letters |
| 2005 | Sag die Wahrheit | Wolfgang Binder | Farce |
| 2006 | Der Widerspenstigen Zähmung | William Shakespeare | The Taming of the Shrew |
| 2007 | Der satanarchäolügenialkohöllische Wunschpunsch | Michael Ende | The Night of Wishes |
| 2008 | Sofies Welt | Karlheinz Komm, after Jostein Gaarder | Sophie's World |
| 2009 | Arsen und Spitzenhäubchen | Joseph Kesselring | Arsenic and Old Lace |
| 2011 | Unsere kleine Stadt | Thornton Wilder | Our Town; premiere 31 March 2011 in the Halle 129 event hall; listed under 2010 on the group's website[11] |
| 2012 | Mein Freund Harvey | Mary Chase | Harvey |
| 2013 | Reine Nervensache | Wolfgang Binder | Comedy of mistaken identity |
| 2014 | …und alles auf Krankenschein | Ray Cooney, German by Horst Willems | |
| 2016 | Und dann gab's keines mehr | after Agatha Christie | And Then There Were None; premiere 4 March 2016; listed under 2015 on the group's website[2] |
| 2017 | Neurosige Zeiten | Winnie Abel | Comedy; premiere in the Bürgerhaus in Hausen[2] |
| 2018 | Halleluja oder Wenn am Himmelstor die Technik streikt | Jochen Matthies | |
| 2019 | Bubblegum und Brillanten | Jürgen Baumgarten | Comedy |
| 2020 | Die seltsame Gräfin | Dirk Zellmer, after Edgar Wallace | Crime play; performances scheduled from 14 March 2020[6] |
| 2023 | Frühstücksei mit Jodeldiplom | Loriot | Sketches[7] |
| 2023 | Der Gott des Gemetzels | Yasmina Reza | God of Carnage[7] |
| 2024 | Eine Woche ohne Erika | Steffen Vogel | Crime comedy; five performances[12][13] |
| 2024 | Charleys Tante reloaded | Winnie Abel | Modern version of Charley's Aunt; five performances[12][13] |
| 2025 | Zum Henker mit den Henks | Norman Robbins | Black comedy thriller; premiere 15 March 2025[14][15] |
| 2026 | Gute Geister | Pam Valentine | Comedy; premiere 28 February 2026[9] |
| 2026 | Tod auf Rezept | Norman Robbins | Thriller; premiere 7 March 2026[9] |
Venue
The group has played at several places in Mayen: in the Burggärten of the Genovevaburg during the Burgfestspiele Mayen (1995) and on the Kleine Bühne there (1998), in the Haus der Jugend (1999), in a venue in the district of Sankt Johann (from 2003) and in the Halle 129 event hall, which houses a collection of historic motor vehicles (2011).[16][17][18][11] Since at least 2017 its productions have been staged in the Bürgerhaus in the Mayen district of Hausen, where the group also rehearses.[2][8]
Organisation
At the end of 2013 the group founded a youth section, Die jungen Mayenspieler, made up of young adults; for its first production, planned for August 2015, it wrote its own play.[19] The ensemble builds its own sets and looks after props, costumes, make-up and technical work itself.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Über Uns, Die Mayenspieler e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 15 May 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Wer ist hier eigentlich verrückt?, Blick aktuell, 20 March 2017, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Stücke 1982 – 2000, Die Mayenspieler e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Geschichte, Förderverein der Burgfestspiele Mayen e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 18 June 2026.
- ↑ 1982 – Die tolle Katrin, Die Mayenspieler e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 15 May 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 2020 – Die seltsame Gräfin, Die Mayenspieler e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 „Die Mayenspieler“ sind zurück auf der Bühne, Blick aktuell, 23 February 2023, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 In Mayen gibt’s bald gute Geister und Tod auf Rezept, Rhein-Zeitung, 15 January 2026, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 18 May 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Mayenspieler: Mal komödiantisch, mal spannend, Wochenspiegel, 5 February 2026, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Stücke 2001 – heute, Die Mayenspieler e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 2010 – Unsere kleine Stadt, Die Mayenspieler e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Wir proben fleißig für unser Publikum!, Die Mayenspieler e. V., 29 December 2023, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Die diesjährigen Premieren und Vorstellungen der Mayenspieler waren sehr erfolgreich, Die Mayenspieler e. V., 16 April 2024, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 9 June 2026.
- ↑ Es geht wieder los!, Die Mayenspieler e. V., 5 November 2024, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 9 June 2026.
- ↑ Theater in Mayen: Morbide Spannung bis zum Ende, Rhein-Zeitung, 18 March 2025, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 1995 – Bezahlt wird nicht, Die Mayenspieler e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 15 May 2026.
- ↑ 1996 – Wenn du geredet hättest, Desdemona, Die Mayenspieler e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 2003 – …die Ente bleibt draussen, Die Mayenspieler e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 9 June 2026.
- ↑ Wer wir sind, Die Mayenspieler e. V., retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 9 June 2026.