Emil and the detectives

Erich Kästner`s story about a boy named Emil Tischbein, a story universally loved by children. On a trip to Berlin Emil`s money is stolen. With the help of his friends, he chases the thief and finally catches him. This story is marvelously suited to the medium of Shadow Theatre. Shadow images perfectly portray the dimensions of a large city, rapid scene changes and the timeless elegance of the characters.

The ingredients used are simple: images painted with transparent colours as well as classic flat shadow figures. However, these elementary means are transformed into an extremely contemporary form of storytelling due to the movement of the light, which creates cross-fadings, distortion and astonishing changes in perspective, sometimes even opening out into film-like 3-dimensional sequences.

Age: five years and older
Duration: 45 minutes
Decor, narration and performance: Norbert Götz
Director: Joachim Torbahn
Puppet design: Wiebke Steinmetz
Background painting: Barbara Steinitz
Light technician: Leon Winkler
Photos and graphic design: André Hammon