Mail from Pina the Doll
Theatre for children aged five and over, based on the story “The Pina Letters” by Martin Baltscheit
The story
Franz is a caretaker and lives in the basement workshop. There’s only one thing he wants, and that’s peace and quiet. So he growls at everyone who comes too close. On the fourth floor, Mrs Schmächtig feeds the pigeons, much to her own delight, and his annoyance. And their mess lands in the courtyard. More reason to grumble! And then there’s little Henrietta. She spends her time on the balcony with her doll Pina, watching out for her father. Her father is away, but she knows he’s coming back.
However, it all changes one day. Henrietta sits outside Franz’s workshop and wails because her doll Pina has gone. The fat lady on the fourth floor moans, the child screams, and Franz knows … that if he wants peace and quiet again, the doll will have to be found.
So he starts the search. Because he can’t find Pina anywhere, he has to think of something quickly. While he thinks in his dusty workshop, he keeps coming across colours, sounds and music. He finds stories, adventures and dream characters. And discovers a whole lot of fun and excitement in his life … including love.
And so it happens that Henrietta can be happy again. Every day she gets a letter from Pina … Until the doll suddenly reappears. And Henrietta has a horrible thought.
Production
An old cupboard becomes a block of flats, one actress slips into all the roles, gets noises out of Franz’s workbench and brings everyday objects to life. Sounds come out of drawers, the heating system makes music, and the dustbin becomes a spacecraft in this fantasy world.
A story about everyday life in the microcosm of a block of flats, about setting out and coming together, about the courage to be human.
