Rapante, rapante!
You know that situation certainly… you sit together with friends and watch funny you tube videos like e.g. the hilarious skit of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” with Justin Timberlake, Joko’s and Claas’ “Ping Pong Porno” contest or Kurt Krömer’s famous “Pummelfee” or “Komm’ von den Damm runter!!!”
In one of these get-togethers, a friend of mine showed me a clip by René Marik, a German degreed puppet player, I 
didn’t even know that you can study that. In his plays appear love-sick cloths in “Liebesleben der Lappen” or the slightly chavy ice bear who speaks in a Berliner accent and comments on the sinking of the titanic in “Titanic”, which is one of my favourites. His most famous puppet is a mole, who wears an armband for the visually impaired and is characterized by a speech defect, whereby legendary sayings are born like “Jemand ze hage?” (“Jemand zu Hause”), Autsch’n, Schneewante (Schneewittchen) or “Rapante” (Rapunzel).
René Marik would describe what he is doing as comedy, but, nevertheless, is different from Mario Barth or Michael Mittermeier, whose repertoire circles around parking and listening, whereas in Marik’s plays there is love, which is relentless as the life itself. Taz says: “Im Grunde ist Marik ein Romantiker, der an der Realität verzweifelt – und sich deshalb im Schutz des feinen Dazwischen aufhält, bis ihm etwas Besseres einfällt”. I like that quote and it fits.
I wouldn’t have thought that puppet shows can be so funny. It reminds me of my childhood and I think as well that you must have kept your inner child to really see the fun in it. So let’s see whether you have saved your inner child and tell me what you think about René Marik.
Tschüßn’
