It’s Teddy Schnuff’s birthday

It’s a shame that Mum insists Toni has to brush his teeth and get dressed first. And then there isn’t even a birthday cake.

But Toni’s Mum is creative, and luckily she’s not just a nuisance – sometimes she’s a real help too. So nothing stands in the way of a brilliant birthday bash. And to top it all off, everyone sings a lovely birthday song for Teddy Schnuff!

The idea behind the play

As a small off-theatre company in Berlin specialising in theatre for children and young people, they have been staging several plays a year since 2022 for pre-school children, primary school classes and teenagers. However, they’d never before included an in-house production for the very youngest in their programme. Normally, they’ve covered this area through guest performances, which they’ve been able to invite via the ‘KiA – Performing Arts for Young Audiences’ programme. This year, however, the theatre wasn’t included in the KiA funding forecast, so they decided on the spot to seize the opportunity and finally stage their first in-house nursery play.

The result is ‘Teddy Schnuff’s Birthday’, a two-person play full of childlike playfulness, in which many children are sure to recognise themselves. Their aim is to inspire a love of theatre in children from a young age by telling them age-appropriate stories that are not overly abstract, but rather drawn straight from the lives of their audience. They further liven up the whole experience through music and opportunities for interaction.

Script and direction: Jessika Haack

Music: Michael R. Schmitz

Cast: Svenja Otto as Mum and Romana Schneider-Otto as Toni

Set design/costumes: Jana Baumann

Technical support: Jessika Haack / Michael R. Schmitz