KASIMIR & KAROLINE

About the show

The party is raw, relentless, and irresistible in this tragicomic classic about love and longing in a time of crisis. The stage is transformed into Oktoberfest, a carnival wonderland, with a towering Ferris wheel at its heart. Led by the Royal Danish Playhouse’s resident director, Anna Balslev, the artistic collective Regimentet explores whether good people still exist—or if crisis and the ruthless nature of the economic system reduce us to selfish individuals who use one another for personal gain. Kasimir and Karoline are engaged, but their future is uncertain. Kasimir has just lost his job, and in his despondency, he lashes out at the free-spirited Karoline. Her longing for a different, easier life, free from consequences, worries, and control, grows within her. She throws herself into the night’s raw, euphoric, and labyrinthine party in search of self-forgetfulness and a brighter future. Ödön von Horváth’s tragicomedy, written in 1932, unfolds over one night at Munich’s Oktoberfest. The rollercoasters and fairground attractions serve as a distorted reflection of love and capitalism’s endless games, and of the longing for a better life amidst economic turmoil. Political tensions and the threat of violent upheaval loom as the young protagonists struggle to reclaim their love. The carnival’s flashing lights and beating rhythm allow people to forget the world’s lying selfishness in a single night’s hope for a different future.