ENDGAME 24
ENDGAME 24
By Juri Sternburg
Berlin, in the VIP box at the Olympic Stadium, July, 14th: it's the day of the 2024 European Championships final and Toni is personally responsible for waiting on the UEFA President. She is disgusted by the theatre that the corrupt football elite are putting on for themselves around a game which has been perverted by commercialism. In cinematic flashbacks, we experience Toni's story as she travels to different European cities. In her youth, she was on the cusp of making it as a professional herself. Suddenly a special Europol unit storms the scene and begins to arrest the entire leadership team. The suspects are accused of receiving bribes »in return for the sale of marketing rights in connection with the organisation of football tournaments«, according to the German Federal Ministry of Justice. Shortly before the start of the most important event in European football, the VIP box is almost empty. But who will preside over the official ceremony now? Who will represent UEFA? Who will present the trophy?
In the midst of the chaos, the now very intoxicated, watch-enthusiast UEFA boss decides to deploy his »new friend« Toni. Now she is to sit in the same place where Hitler once watched the Olympic Games, put on a happy face, and finally hand the trophy over to the victors. But she quickly realises that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After all, the eyes of the world are all on her. Together with amateur players and football fans in Berlin, Endgame 24 tells, through a mixture of film and theatre, a story of the love of the game and the (im)possibilities of overcoming the deep rifts between grassroots and commercialisation.
The project is funded by the Stiftung Fußball & Kultur EURO 2024 and the German Federal
Government and is an official contribution to the UEFA EURO 2024TM art and culture
programme.
Watch the Trailer
World Premiere 14/June 2024
Photo: Esra Rotthoff
Stage Photos: Ute Langkafel
Trailer: Schnittmenge
Web
Cast
By Juri Sternburg
»Die Schauspielerinnen Aysima Ergün und Vidina Popov, die hier als verdoppelte Stadion-Caterin namens Toni die VIP-Tribüne bedienen und insgeheim den Aufstand planen, rennen die leeren Fußballtore nämlich mit einer derartigen Energie und Spiellust ein, dass es eine echte Zuschaufreude ist.«
Christine Wahl, Tagesspiegel »Fußball-Theater kurz vorm Anstoß zur Fußball-Europameisterschaft: eine griffige Idee. Mit zwei Top-Spielerinnen und einer chorisch aufgestellten Mannschaft leisten Juri Sternburg und das Gorki einen offiziellen Beitrag zum Kunst- und Kulturprogramm der EM.«
Frauke Adrians, nachtkritik.de
»Allerdings, und das ist das Schöne an diesem kleinen Abend, ist das jetzt kein moralisches Zeigefingerschwingen, sondern eine sehr lustige Komödie mit zwei herausragend komischen Schauspielerinnen: Aysima Ergün und Vidina Popov.«
Barbara Behrendt, rbb
Maxim Gorki Theater
Stage:
Studio Я
Hinter dem Gießhaus 2
10117 Berlin