acting

DIE MITTE DER WELT | LANDESTHEATER LINZ, AUSTRIA: “Warm, dreamy, tender, strong, full of promise” “A collaboratively crafted stage marvel” “A moving experience that places the colorful diversity of relationships and their highs and lows at the center in timeless universality” UPPER AUSTRIAN NEWS +++++++ “A vibrant evening that relies more on intimacy than on effect and draws its strength from the interplay of a dedicated ensemble. The sustained applause at the end confirms its impact. ‘The Centre of the World’ unfolds a peculiar magnetic pull – not as a stoicly narrated story, but a circular movement around questions that can't be easily answered.” “Spaces emerge less through set design (Eleanor Bull) than through bodies, glances, and movement paths. Karoline Gable’s direction relies on dynamism, on an almost choreographic style of storytelling. (…) Modern, simple costumes clearly situate the story in the present without pinning it down. Everything feels deliberately reduced, but not sparse – rather like a resonating chamber for relationships.” “No character remains a mere function; each one brings their own distinct tone.” KULTURFEDER +++++++ “The well-conceived, minimalist and therefore very intimate production by Karoline Gable was met with enthusiastic applause and standing ovations.” “The audience is seated both in a grandstand and in a semicircle around the playing area. This setting makes it possible for nearly the entire space to be used and for the spectators, as silent observers, to be directly integrated into the production.” “A jubilantly celebrated world premiere” DER KULTUR BLOG +++++++ “Sensitive direction by Karoline Gable” “A magnificent world premiere” “Bravo!” DIE PRESSE +++++++ “A production distinguished by its emotional immediacy and its own unique, pulsating rhythm.” “Gable makes the narrative pull of the source material physically tangible by repeatedly extending the scenes into the rows of chairs. The audience thus becomes a direct witness to the intimacy, almost a co-inhabitant of ‘Visible.’” “For this, Karoline Gable’s production makes use of the transformable nature of the Linz BlackBox for a radically reduced spatial concept. The audience sits in a semicircle around a sparsely furnished playing area that leaves ample room for the imagination. Instead of reconstructing the villa ‘Visible’ as a naturalistic replica, the set relies on a few precisely placed symbols: a solitary bookshelf marks Phil’s retreat, while a table with three chairs anchors the precarious family life at the center. Only two depressions at the rear of the stage suggest the overgrown garden. This renunciation of spectacular set pieces proves to be a directorial gain, as it allows the images to emerge in the minds of the audience.” “In terms of casting, the production proves to be an absolute stroke of luck. As Phil, Lukas Sandmann is the emotional center of the evening. (…) With fascinating honesty, he portrays a development that moves from a passive, almost fate-bound boy who stumbles through life rather than shaping it, to the painful realization that he must take the reins himself. Sandmann shapes this coming-of-age process with remarkable naturalness, avoiding any exaggerated pose or overt theatricality. It is precisely this finely attuned, almost cinematic performance that lends the character enormous credibility and immediacy.” +++++++ “This production impressively proves that the musical genre does not require massive stage machinery to tell a universal, deeply moving story about identity. (…) An evening that proves the greatest impact often arises where we are allowed to come very close to the characters.” MUSICALZENTRALE +++++++ “Karoline Gable’s production succeeds in advancing this web of relationships with skillful time shifts and great clarity.” “Overall, the ensemble delivers a successful world premiere (…) – thunderous final applause.” “Strong material, strong performers” KRONEN ZEITUNG +++++++ “In Karoline Gable’s production, the performers act throughout the entire theater space: on and beside the stage, in the aisles between the rows of seats, and on a gallery in the background. A few props and costumes (…) suffice to suggest locations and situations and to characterize the figures: minimal effort, great effect (set design: Eleanor Bull). It is easy to imagine that Phil’s story will soon be experienced elsewhere in the German-speaking world – and one can only hope so.” “Cinematic” MUSICAL TODAY +++++++ “Almost everyone has experienced the force of first love, the search for one’s own identity, and the family’s power that is both formative and paralyzing – in this intensely staged ensemble piece in Linz, all these facets of self-discovery are explored.” “In the intimate setting of the Black Box, audiences experience a maximally intense chamber play in which the performers, with great joy and presence, act not only on stage, on the various walkways, and on the balcony above (set design by Eleanor Bull), but often in the midst of the spectators.” “Celebrated with standing ovations” CRESCENDO ++++++++++++++ HALBER MOND | NEUKÖLLN OPERA BERLIN: “{HALBER MOND} conveys beautiful reflections on the vicissitudes of artistic creation.” “In the inner courtyard, a group of men are shouting at each other, sirens are blaring, and we’re discussing whether the rubber or the felt mallet sounds better on the gong” – this is how director Karoline Gable, who staged Half Moon, describes the surreal simultaneity during a rehearsal in Neukölln.” “Poetic miniature” “A strong sense of balance between seriousness and comedy. (…) Musician Paul Jakob Dinkelacker creates a raw, melodic soundscape to accompany it, using a hybrid percussion and string instrument, field recordings, samples, and collages of noise and voice.” TAGESSPIEGEL ++++++++++++++ FURY & ELYSIUM | THE OTHER PALACE: “Co-directors Rafaella Marcus and Karoline Gable keep the pace moving while allowing the sextet moments of support and quiet. There is a real sense of threat hovering over this Berlin, which celebrates differences in all forms but also a sense of sisterhood.” LOU REVIEWS +++++++ “Fearless” THEATRE AND TONIC ++++++++++++++ SITTING PRETTY | BRIGHTON FRINGE: "Within a few minutes, you wonder why the pop musical wasn’t on the livestream from London. Directed by Karoline Gable, (...) Sitting Pretty is that good, that promising." "Karoline Gable’s Direction too is exceptionally tight. " FRINGE REVIEW +++++++ "a millennial melodrama, 50 minutes of magnificent mayhem rooted in a fond yearning for yesteryear." VOICEMAG