Arnulf Rating: LIES

Our world is what we make of it. We cannot be everywhere – so it is the news reports that, at breakneck speed, inform us about global madness and meaning. It pours in from every channel: news reports do not merely inform us; they shape our view of the world. Words have an impact. And a picture is worth a thousand words. We are the end consumers. This is dumped into our brains.

Who do we place our trust in? Can we distinguish fake news from facts? Who chooses the words? And the images? The mobile phone is becoming a gateway to the world. Does it make us clever, or does it turn us into fools? One thing is certain: the commodity of lies is booming.

Those who’ve made it to the top are rarely free from vertigo. This leads to comical contortions and, at times, permanent postural damage. The higher you climb, the greater the drop. But it’s the drop that’s crucial for humour. Laughs are therefore guaranteed. And often it’s us we’re talking about. After all, don’t we all want to aim high?

With pace and high entertainment value, one of the country’s longest-serving sharp tongues shines here. The last of the legendary ‘3 Tornados’ to take to the stage. His standard is the same as it was back in the days of the Tornados: entertainment with integrity. The aim remains the same: to send the audience home from the theatre with a broader perspective for those at the top, and with wet trousers for those at the bottom."

Arnulf Rating

Born in Mülheim in 1951, he has lived in Berlin since 1972; he has been making cabaret history since 1977 with the “3 Tornados”, after German reunification from 1990 onwards with the “Reichspolterabend”, and in the new millennium with the annual “Politischer Aschermittwoch Berlin”. As well as numerous cabaret programmes, he works as an organiser (the international spoken-word festival ‘Maulhelden’) and on revue shows such as ‘Der Blaue Montag’, amongst others. He is also active online with ‘tagesschauer’.

His true passion, however, lies in live performance on stage. When he switches on the projector, opens his suitcase full of newspapers and fires off his barrage of absurd verbal cascades at the audience, one thing is clear: Germany’s oldest ‘Rating’ agency is striking again, mercilessly. Arnulf Rating is married and has three adult children.

• Cabaret at the cutting edge – constantly updated
• Directed by: Ulrich Waller