zur deutschen Version Author: Sören Boller
Translation: Oliver Grytzmann

BERLIN – Die Gorillas, the improv group from Germany’s capital, presented their popular format “Gurke oder Banane” (Cucumber or Banana) three times during this year’s festival. The final performance was held on March 23th, 2013, and was already sold out several days prior. The show featured Maria Maschenka (fastfood theater/München), Sabine Strobach (Drama Light/Mannheim), Bruno Dreyfurst (inedit theatre/Strasbourg) as well as Michael Wolf (Gorillas), and was thus less international than the 10-day long event itself. Nonetheless, the ensemble consisted of high-quality improvisers.

As always, “Gurke oder Banane” was about four directors, who competed for a fictive grant; the sum was awarded to the person with the most bananas at the end of the show. To collect the fruits, the actors one by one improvised scenes that were rated by the audience with a banana – for a good performance – or with a cucumber – for a bad improvisation.

The resulting scenes were worth-watching, but lacked highlights. For instance, Bruno Dreyfurst’s crime story – located in an OBI DIY store in the Brandenburg town of Neuruppin – generated suspense, especially through its sharply and consistently played characters. However, the plot wasn’t about more than the promise of a murder. Michael Wolf’s French action film in a church constituted an exemption from this rule; at the end of the scene the Berliner improviser freed himself from the cross as Jesus and thus created a crucial and surprising plot-twist as a newborn superhero.
In addition, the plots were carried by challenges typical of an improv show, such as an ABC-scene, characters based on animals, a song followed by an interview, and speech that consisted only of wise sayings.
In the end, Maria Maschenka went home with the grant; in the tradition of the format, the winner delivered a speech about her next project while another actor, standing behind her, provided the gesticulation. In short: the show wasn’t mind-blowing, but definitely good, entertaining and it satisfied the expectations first and foremost. The audience was visibly pleased.