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The '''Neues Theater Mering e. V.''' (NTM) is an amateur theatre association in [[wikipedia:Mering|Mering]] in the district of [[wikipedia:Aichach-Friedberg|Aichach-Friedberg]], Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. Founded in 1990 by a group of young theatre enthusiasts, it stages contemporary and classical plays and children's theatre with an adult ensemble, a children's group and a youth group, and plays in its own hall, the ''Dachtheater'' in the Schlossmühle in Mering.<ref name="chronik" /><ref name="gruppen" />

== History ==
The association was founded in March 1990 by a group of young people who wanted to bring theatre with contemporary relevance to their audience. With no organisation behind them, they negotiated with the municipality and the Catholic parish for a playing space and collected start-up money from sponsors. The first production, [[wikipedia:Ödön von Horváth|Ödön von Horváth]]'s ''Hin und Her'', was followed by [[wikipedia:Friedrich Dürrenmatt|Friedrich Dürrenmatt]]'s ''Meteor'', whose experimental stage design set the direction for the group's later style.<ref name="chronik" />

For eight years the group played in the Papst-Johannes-Haus; in 1999 it moved into its own hall, which it had fitted out itself.<ref name="chronik" /> In 1999 it also began staging children's plays, starting with ''Kikerikiste'' by [[wikipedia:Paul Maar|Paul Maar]], as the founders had by then started families of their own. In summer 2004 it staged its largest project to date, an open-air production of [[wikipedia:Friedrich Schiller|Schiller]]'s ''Die Räuber'' in the courtyard of Mering Castle.<ref name="chronik" /> A children's group, the ''NTM Kids'', was formed in 2008; after five productions it was divided in spring 2013, and the members aged twelve and over formed the youth group ''NTM Neons'', whose first production was Dürrenmatt's ''Die Physiker'' in November 2013.<ref name="chronik" /><ref name="gruppen" />

For its 25th anniversary the association held a jubilee weekend in February 2016 with three productions, among them a multimedia staging of [[wikipedia:Goethe's Faust|''Faust. Der Tragödie erster Teil'']], for which the Walpurgis Night scene was filmed in the vaults of Mering Castle. The four performances of ''Faust'' in the Papst-Johannes-Haus were sold out, with a record total of 800 spectators.<ref name="chronik" /> By December 2018 the group had staged 50 productions.<ref name="chronik" /> Since 2024 members have also taken part, as volunteers, in the crime-prevention play ''Lug und Betrug'' of the criminal police advisory centre in Augsburg, which presents six scenarios of fraud against older people.<ref name="gruppen" />

== Repertoire ==
The adult ensemble plays classical and modern works with contemporary relevance and also children's plays, such as several adaptations of Paul Maar's ''Sams'' books since 2011; it has no permanent director, and members can try their hand at directing.<ref name="chronik" /><ref name="gruppen" /> The NTM Kids perform a children's play, usually a fairy tale, each year in Advent or early in the year, and the NTM Neons stage plays for young audiences.<ref name="gruppen" /> Some productions, such as ''Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank'' (2018), bring together members of all three groups.<ref name="chronik" />

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Productions<ref name="insz1" /><ref name="insz2" />
! Date !! Title !! Author !! Notes
|-
| May 1990 || ''Hin und Her'' || [[wikipedia:Ödön von Horváth|Ödön von Horváth]] || First production
|-
| March 1991 || ''Meteor'' || [[wikipedia:Friedrich Dürrenmatt|Friedrich Dürrenmatt]] || 
|-
| October 1991 || ''Die Unvernünftigen sterben aus'' || [[wikipedia:Peter Handke|Peter Handke]] || 
|-
| May 1992 || ''Andorra'' || [[wikipedia:Max Frisch|Max Frisch]] || ''[[wikipedia:Andorra (play)|Andorra]]''
|-
| July 1992 || ''Am Puls der Zeit'' ||  || 
|-
| October 1992 || ''Die Verspätung'' || [[wikipedia:Wolfgang Hildesheimer|Wolfgang Hildesheimer]] || 
|-
| June 1993 || ''Ball der Diebe'' || [[wikipedia:Jean Anouilh|Jean Anouilh]] || 
|-
| November 1993 || ''Geschlossene Gesellschaft'' || [[wikipedia:Jean-Paul Sartre|Jean-Paul Sartre]] || ''[[wikipedia:No Exit|No Exit]]''
|-
| June 1994 || ''Romulus der Große'' || Friedrich Dürrenmatt || ''[[wikipedia:Romulus the Great|Romulus the Great]]''
|-
| October 1994 || ''Fernando Krapp'' || [[wikipedia:Tankred Dorst|Tankred Dorst]] || 
|-
| May 1995 || ''Frühlings Erwachen'' || [[wikipedia:Frank Wedekind|Frank Wedekind]] || ''[[wikipedia:Spring Awakening (play)|Spring Awakening]]''
|-
| January 1996 || ''Kikerikiste'' || [[wikipedia:Paul Maar|Paul Maar]] || 
|-
| October 1996 || ''Jagdzeit'' ||  || 
|-
| May 1997 || ''Rotkäppchen spielen'' ||  || 
|-
| January 1998 || ''Biedermann und die Brandstifter'' || Max Frisch || ''[[wikipedia:The Fire Raisers (play)|The Fire Raisers]]''
|-
| October 1998 || ''Spiel's nochmal, Sam'' || [[wikipedia:Woody Allen|Woody Allen]] || 
|-
| September 1999 || ''Kikerikiste'' || Paul Maar || Revival
|-
| March 2000 || ''Top Dogs'' || [[wikipedia:Urs Widmer|Urs Widmer]] || 
|-
| November 2000 || ''Porträt eines Planeten'' || Friedrich Dürrenmatt || 
|-
| July 2001 || ''Die Gruselschule'' ||  || 
|-
| February 2002 || ''Kabale und Liebe'' || [[wikipedia:Friedrich Schiller|Friedrich Schiller]] || ''[[wikipedia:Intrigue and Love|Intrigue and Love]]''
|-
| March 2003 || ''Die Grotte'' || Jean Anouilh || 
|-
| October 2003 || ''Das Traumfresserchen'' || [[wikipedia:Michael Ende|Michael Ende]] || 
|-
| July 2004 || ''Die Räuber'' || Friedrich Schiller || ''[[wikipedia:The Robbers|The Robbers]]''; open air in the courtyard of Mering Castle
|-
| April 2005 || ''Der kleine Prinz'' || after [[wikipedia:Antoine de Saint-Exupéry|Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]] || 
|-
| January 2006 || ''Der kleine Eisbär'' || after Hans de Beer || 
|-
| November 2006 || ''Die Gefahr'' ||  || 
|-
| July 2007 || ''Kikerikiste'' || Paul Maar || Revival
|-
| April 2008 || ''Die Spielverderber'' ||  || 
|-
| December 2008 || ''Hilfe, die Herdmanns kommen!'' || after Barbara Robinson || NTM Kids (children's group); ''[[wikipedia:The Best Christmas Pageant Ever|The Best Christmas Pageant Ever]]''
|-
| March 2009 || ''Das Gesellschaftsspiel'' ||  || 
|-
| December 2009 || ''Pechvogel und Glückskind'' ||  || NTM Kids (children's group)
|-
| July/September 2010 || ''Emilia Galotti'' || [[wikipedia:Gotthold Ephraim Lessing|Gotthold Ephraim Lessing]] || 20th anniversary; open air in the castle courtyard
|-
| November/December 2010 || ''Der Zauberer von Oz'' || after [[wikipedia:L. Frank Baum|L. Frank Baum]] || NTM Kids (children's group)
|-
| April 2011 || ''Eine Woche voller Samstage'' || after Paul Maar || 
|-
| November 2011 || ''Komödie im Dunkeln'' || [[wikipedia:Peter Shaffer|Peter Shaffer]] || ''[[wikipedia:Black Comedy (play)|Black Comedy]]''
|-
| March 2012 || ''Momo'' || after Michael Ende || NTM Kids (children's group)
|-
| January 2013 || ''Fridolin! Ritter ohne Herz und Hirn!'' ||  || NTM Kids (children's group)
|-
| April 2013 || ''Shakespeares sämtliche Werke (leicht gekürzt)'' || Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield || ''[[wikipedia:The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)|The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)]]''
|-
| November 2013 || ''Die Physiker'' || Friedrich Dürrenmatt || NTM Neons (youth group); first production; ''[[wikipedia:The Physicists|The Physicists]]''
|-
| March 2014 || ''Der kleine Wassermann'' || after [[wikipedia:Otfried Preußler|Otfried Preußler]] || NTM Kids (children's group)
|-
| November 2014 || ''Am Samstag kam das Sams zurück'' || after Paul Maar || 
|-
| April/May 2015 || ''Die Welle'' || after [[wikipedia:Todd Strasser|Morton Rhue]] || NTM Neons (youth group); revived February 2016
|-
| November 2015 || ''Die kleine Hexe'' || after Otfried Preußler || NTM Kids (children's group); revived February 2016
|-
| February 2016 || ''Faust. Der Tragödie erster Teil'' || [[wikipedia:Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]] || 25th anniversary; Papst-Johannes-Haus
|-
| November/December 2016 || ''Peter Pan'' || after [[wikipedia:J. M. Barrie|J. M. Barrie]] || NTM Kids (children's group)
|-
| March 2017 || ''Neue Punkte für das Sams'' || after Paul Maar || 
|-
| November 2017 || ''Die Mausefalle'' || [[wikipedia:Agatha Christie|Agatha Christie]] || NTM Neons (youth group); ''[[wikipedia:The Mousetrap|The Mousetrap]]''
|-
| March 2018 || ''Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank'' || Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett || ''[[wikipedia:The Diary of Anne Frank (play)|The Diary of Anne Frank]]''
|-
| November 2018 || ''Herr Bello und das blaue Wunder'' || after Paul Maar || 
|-
| March/April 2019 || ''Das Dschungelbuch'' || after [[wikipedia:Rudyard Kipling|Rudyard Kipling]] || NTM Kids (children's group)
|-
| November 2019 || ''Weltuntergang oder Die Welt steht auf kein' Fall mehr lang'' || [[wikipedia:Jura Soyfer|Jura Soyfer]] || NTM Neons (youth group)
|-
| March 2022 || ''Ritter Kamenbert'' ||  || 
|-
| November 2022 || ''Teufelsspur'' ||  || NTM Neons (youth group)
|-
| November 2022 || ''Schneewittchen-WG'' ||  || NTM Kids (children's group)
|-
| March 2023 || ''Spamalot – die Ritter der Kokosnuss'' || [[wikipedia:Eric Idle|Eric Idle]] || ''[[wikipedia:Spamalot|Spamalot]]''
|-
| November 2023 || ''Die Opodeldoks'' ||  || NTM Kids (children's group)
|-
| April 2024 || ''Der Fall Rautermann'' ||  || 
|-
| November/December 2024 || ''Das Spinnennetz'' || Agatha Christie || NTM Neons (youth group); ''[[wikipedia:Spider's Web (play)|Spider's Web]]''
|-
| February 2025 || ''Das kleine Gespenst'' || after Otfried Preußler || NTM Kids (children's group)
|-
| March/April 2025 || ''Alles lacht um Mitternacht'' ||  || 
|-
| November 2025 || ''Der Gott des Gemetzels'' || [[wikipedia:Yasmina Reza|Yasmina Reza]] || ''[[wikipedia:God of Carnage|God of Carnage]]''; further performances March 2026
|-
| November 2025 || ''Zieh den Stecker raus, das Wasser kocht'' ||  || NTM Neons (youth group)
|-
| January/February 2026 || ''Extrawurst'' || Dietmar Jacobs and Moritz Netenjakob || 
|-
| 2026 || ''Die sieben Zwerge erzählen von Schneewittchen'' || Sigrid Vorpahl || NTM Kids (children's group)<ref name="aa2026" />
|}

== Venue ==
The association's hall, the ''Dachtheater'', is on the fourth floor of the Schlossmühle in Mering, with a self-built modular wooden stage, a sound and lighting booth, a bar and a lift for barrier-free access; make-up and storage rooms are in the attic.<ref name="spielorte" /> From 1990 to 1998 the group played in the Papst-Johannes-Haus, a hall with up to 200 seats, to which it returned for its 25th anniversary in 2016. The courtyard of the neighbouring castle, owned by the von Grauvogl family, was used for the open-air productions of ''Die Räuber'' (2004) and [[wikipedia:Gotthold Ephraim Lessing|Lessing]]'s ''[[wikipedia:Emilia Galotti|Emilia Galotti]]'' (2010, for the 20th anniversary).<ref name="spielorte" />

== Organisation ==
On 1 January 2014 the Neues Theater Mering had 185 members, 75 of them under 18.<ref name="mitglied" />

== References ==
<references>
<ref name="chronik">[https://www.neues-theater-mering.de/index.php/rund-ums-theater/chronik/ Chronik], Neues Theater Mering e. V., retrieved 20 October 2026. [https://web.archive.org/web/20260929010841/https://www.neues-theater-mering.de/index.php/rund-ums-theater/chronik/ Archived] on 29 September 2026.</ref>
<ref name="gruppen">[https://www.neues-theater-mering.de/index.php/gruppen/ Gruppen], Neues Theater Mering e. V., retrieved 20 October 2026. [https://web.archive.org/web/20261021105331/https://www.neues-theater-mering.de/index.php/gruppen/ Archived] on 21 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="insz1">[https://www.neues-theater-mering.de/index.php/inszenierungen/inszenierungen-teil-i/ Inszenierungen – Teil I], Neues Theater Mering e. V., retrieved 20 October 2026. [https://web.archive.org/web/20261021105441/https://www.neues-theater-mering.de/index.php/inszenierungen/inszenierungen-teil-i/ Archived] on 21 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="insz2">[https://www.neues-theater-mering.de/index.php/inszenierungen/inszenierungen-teil-ii/ Inszenierungen – Teil II], Neues Theater Mering e. V., retrieved 20 October 2026. [https://web.archive.org/web/20261021105526/https://www.neues-theater-mering.de/index.php/inszenierungen/inszenierungen-teil-ii/ Archived] on 21 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="spielorte">[https://www.neues-theater-mering.de/index.php/rund-ums-theater/spielorte/ Spielorte], Neues Theater Mering e. V., retrieved 20 October 2026. [https://web.archive.org/web/20261021105637/https://www.neues-theater-mering.de/index.php/rund-ums-theater/spielorte/ Archived] on 21 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="mitglied">[https://www.neues-theater-mering.de/index.php/rund-ums-theater/mitgliedschaft/ Mitgliedschaft], Neues Theater Mering e. V., retrieved 20 October 2026. [https://web.archive.org/web/20261021105714/https://www.neues-theater-mering.de/index.php/rund-ums-theater/mitgliedschaft/ Archived] on 21 October 2026.</ref>
<ref name="aa2026">[https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/friedberg/neues-theater-mering-zeigt-schneewittchen-aus-zwergen-sicht-115477693 Neues Theater Mering zeigt Schneewittchen aus Zwergen-Sicht], Augsburger Allgemeine, 11 October 2026, retrieved 20 October 2026. [https://web.archive.org/web/20261012134420/https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/friedberg/neues-theater-mering-zeigt-schneewittchen-aus-zwergen-sicht-115477693 Archived] on 12 October 2026.</ref>
</references>