Der Liebling

Mothers/daughters/sisters/bosses/friends/rivals/knights

We are in the office complex of a tampon manufacturer. The story centres on five women and one man. At the heart of it all: Franka König, known as THE QUEEN, and Bettina von Fürstenberg, known as THE PRINCESS. They were friends in their youth, but are now rivals. As CEOs of the rival feminine hygiene product manufacturers Never and Immer, they are planning hostile takeovers of each other’s companies. They fight by any means necessary for innovation and market share. Things are getting tight for DIE KÖNIG: she has sacked her happiness manager Luna and injured her with a sword; there is a video recording of this and she now faces the threat of legal action. To get hold of the recording, Luna sends her sister Mary to Never as an intern, where she quickly wins the boss’s trust and makes a career for herself. Meanwhile, Franka’s son Karsten, who has spent his whole life striving for his successful mother’s approval, sees the crisis as his chance: he wants to become the next CEO of Never. And Bettina’s daughter Rebekka, who is famous on Instagram as a ‘tradwife’, is also in constant conflict with her mother …

In this fast-paced plot in three acts, the (feminist) sparks fly. The author, Svenja Viola Bungarten – well-versed in all the discursive currents of the present day – has written a comedy that explores questions of female solidarity and patriarchal behaviour, of career and power, motherhood and being a daughter, of friendship and rivalry. For times in which an ultra-conservative image of women is experiencing an alarming revival.

Tina Lanik’s artistic signature is characterised by contemporary drama, socio-political themes and precise psychological studies of relationships, with a particular interest in female perspectives and feminist narratives. In keeping with this, she has been campaigning for over two decades for the equality and visibility of female directors, against the gender pay gap and for a better work-life balance between family and theatre.