What's the matter?

That mer nix thing derf?

The two cloakroom ladies in Frankfurt's Jahrhunderthalle have to deal with this almost existentialist question if they really want to talk freshly about the peculiar to impossible audience, but always have to admonish themselves that “nothing is wrong” before they then divulge all sorts of secrets.

The two women belong to the almost dozen roles that Gerd Knebel and Henni Nachtsheim slip into as the comedy duo Badesalz in their latest sketch parade.

Christian Riethmüller

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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    However, these skits are neither part of a new stage program nor a TV show, but rather a virtual tour of discovery through the Centennial Hall, during which the two act as tour guides.

    They not only lead the audience into the most remote corners of the building with the distinctive domed roof, but also present the different people who fill the hall with life in non-pandemic times.

    There is the martial-looking, but above all high-pungent security;

    there are the master chefs who celebrate the preparation of “gourmet sickles” with a lot of blah and also chat about all kinds of special food preferences of world-famous musicians - although “it's not a matter of fact”;

    there are the heating technicians who use ABC plasters to mend the outdated pipes;

    and of course there are the two roadies, one of whom has already helped Jimi Hendrix and gave the miracle guitarist a decisive tip that he could always play "completely free" from now on.

    Clips are supplemented by animation and sound gimmicks

    The “Badesalz Backstage Safari”, which can be conveniently undertaken from your home computer, also takes you to the artist's dressing room, to the VIP rooms, to the legendary bar and, of course, to the stage. On the screen, the viewer moves through the premises of the Jahrhunderthalle, where Gerd Knebel and Henni Nachtsheim are waiting as appropriate staff in specially produced video films. The clips are supplemented by all sorts of animation and sound gimmicks that can be activated with a click of the mouse. Some things are just silly, others pretty bizarre and some also instructive, for example the gallery of all the greats who have already stood on the stage in the Jahrhunderthalle, excerpts from the guest book or old photographs.

    Seasoned online gamers may smile at the look of the safari, but this production, which was directed by Andreana Clemenz and Alex Burgos, is not at all about perfect virtual worlds.

    It is a winking bow to an event location that is more than just a mundane multi-purpose hall, a place where history was written - and certainly many stories, too, but that's not a matter of fact.

    Tickets for the online tour can be booked at www.badesalz-backstage-safari.de

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