Die Mitte der Welt

Andreas Steinhöfel’s magical-realist coming-of-age novel The Center of the World has already conquered many theatre stages and—featuring actors like Jannik Schümann—even the big screen. Now, we want to show that the story is also brimming with musical potential. The Landestheater has commissioned the young creative team of Niklas Wagner and Sarah Taylor Ellis to adapt the novel into a musical, and the first try-out during schreib:maschine at the Linz BlackBox made one thing clear: with their indie-folk score, these two are on a promising path.

Seventeen-year-old Phil lives on the outskirts of town in the villa “Visible” with his eccentric mother Glass and his mysteriously silent twin sister Dianne. Nothing about his life is normal—yet all he longs for is a little normality. When he falls in love with his classmate Nicholas, even his bubbly best friend Kat can’t help him anymore. One thing is certain: things can’t stay the way they are.

Steinhöfel tells a poetic and dryly humorous tale of being different and of a young person’s search for their place in the world.