The last band

Almost all great actors have ventured into this text at the zenith of their careers: unforgettable Fritz Kortner and Ulrich Wildgruber. And most recently with us in Hamburg: Otto Sander almost 20 years ago. Now Christian Redl is venturing into Beckett's “Krapp.” A lost, exhausted and failed writer meets his 39-year-old self in old, diary-like recordings and listens in disbelief about his previous life. And here he also meets his great love once again, the turning point in his life. Beckett's classic is full of autobiographical allusions, which the eventual Nobel Prize winner artfully puzzled over.

Christian Redl developed this evening together with Jim Rakete, one of the most important contemporary photographers and documentary filmmakers, with whom he wants to develop a new perspective on Beckett's great disillusioned people.

was interested in photography and music early on. At the age of four, he took his first snapshots with a camera. He later photographed Berlin's music scene. At the age of 17, he began his career with pictures for newspapers and agencies, including by Mick Jagger, Jimi Hendrix and Ray Charles and David Bowie. From 1977 to 1987, Rakete managed his own photo agency, called the “Fabrik”, on a factory floor in Kreuzberg. During this time, he not only photographed the covers of many Neue Deutsche Welle musicians, but also worked as a music manager. The most famous artists and bands supervised by Rakete include Nena, Nina Hagen, Interzone, Sternhagel and Die Ärzte. Since 1987, Rakete has dedicated himself entirely to photography, and since then he has portrayed numerous greats in the German and international music and film industry. In addition, there is always a particular interest in up-and-coming film and music talents. After a long stay in Hamburg, he moved back to Berlin in 2001 and had his studio in Kreuzberg for a long time. In an article from 2000, Jim Rakete was critical of digital photography because for him it had nothing to do with reality, but more with a type of construction when photos are reworked on a computer. In 2018, Rakete was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his life's work. In 2020, Jim Rakete shot the cinema documentary “NOW” about young people's fight for better climate protection. “Das letzte Band” is his first theatre direction.

attended acting school in Bochum and received his first engagements on stages in Wuppertal (under Arno Wüstenhöfer), Frankfurt (in connection with Peter Palitzsch) and Bremen (according to Frank-Patrick Steckel). From 1980 to 1993, Christian Redl was part of the ensemble of the Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg and played leading roles in numerous productions by Claus Peymann, Luc Bondy, Wilfried Minks, Peter Löscher and Peter Zadek. This was followed by engagements at the Hamburger Kammerspiele (in accordance with Ulrich Tukur/ Ulrich Waller), where he was seen with Ulrich Tukur in the legendary performance “Art” and together with Peter Franke in the production “Der Totmacher”. At the St. Pauli Theater, he played in the “Threepenny Opera” as Jonathan Peachum alongside Eva Mattes, with Mattes and Angela Winkler in “Arsenic and Lace Hat” and together with Gerhard Garbers most recently in “Sonny Boys.” In 1987, the movie “Sierra Leone” marked the beginning of his TV and screen career. In 1991, Christian Redl was cast for his leading role in Bernd Schadewald's television film “Der Hammermörder” was awarded the Grimme Prize. Numerous other cinema and television films followed. Among others: “The Trio” (directed by Hermine Hundtgeburt), “Leah” (directed by Ivan Fila), “Tattoo” (directed by Robert Schendtke), “Krabat” (directed by Marco Kreuzpainter), “The Rose Murderer”, “Late Revenge” (both directed by Matti Geschonneck), “Night Shift Father's Day” (directed by Lars Becker), “Als der Stranger” came” (directed by Andreas Kleinert). For “Marie Brand und die offene Rechnung” (directed by Florian Kern), Christian Redl received the award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role from the DaFF in 2013. Since 2006, Christian Redl has also been regularly seen as Commissioner Krüger in the Spreewald crime stories. In 2023, he published his autobiography “Life has no railing.”

approx. 50 minutes, no break

10623 Berlin, Germania