A German company bringing a comedy to York is keen to see what English audiences think, writes Charles Hutchinson.

GERMAN theatre company Landesbühnen Sachsen will perform their comedy Adam’s Apples outside their homeland for the first time – in York Theatre Royal’s De Grey Rooms Ballroom on Wednesday and Thursday.

“We’re very excited about our visit and are curious to see how English audiences react to the show,” says director Manuel Schöbel, whose company from Radebeul presents the show in a co-production with Bodytalk, a dance performance group from Cologne.

The 7.30pm performances form part two of an Anglo-German partnership that began with actors from York Theatre Royal visiting Germany last year with a production of Shakespeare In His Cups.

Adam’s Apples is based on filmmaker Anders Thomas Jensen’s 2005 German-Danish black comedy of the same name, adapted for the stage by KD Schmidtther and presented in a German translation by Beate Klöckner.

The plot involves a naïve and good-natured pastor in the idyllic Danish countryside encountering Adam, a neo-Nazi hooligan who has just been released from prison. Adam is supposed to be reintegrated into society – along with the sex-offender Gunnar and Arabian convenience store robber Khalid – and must sit out his parole in the parsonage with the others.

Pastor Ivan refuses to accept that Adam is nothing more than an incorrigible brute, and in his incessant effort at betterment, he forces Adam to set a realistic goal for himself: he has to bake an apple pie.

In turn, this is reason enough for Adam to provoke escapist Ivan at every opportunity in an effort to convince him of the inherent evil in every man’s soul.

“The symbolically important apple is ever-present throughout the play, with allusions to the biblical themes of good and evil or the trials of Job,” says Manuel. “These essential, philosophical questions are the thread that tie Adam, Ivan and their scurrilous little community of misfits to the rest of humanity.”

In keeping with Landesbühnen Sachsen’s mission of mobility and cultural diversity, the opening night of Adam’s Apples took place in an historic cinema building in Königstein and the show has since been seen in various German venues in Saxony and beyond.

Now comes its British premiere in a lavish Victorian neo-classical ballroom in York.

“The Landesbühnen Sachsen, Saxony’s travelling repertory theatre, has an artistic co-operation with York Theatre Royal that stretches back a couple of years,” says Jane Taubert, from Landesbühnen Sachsen, explaining the roots of the theatrical link with York.

“The idea of working together came when general manager Manuel Schöbel and artistic director Damian Cruden began brainstorming about a joint project in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War.

“A dramatic reading of Annie’s Diar, a bilingual production, took place in Radebeul, the home venue of the Landesbühnen, back in September 2014 as actors from York Theatre Royal were there for several guest performances.”

During their stay of nearly two weeks, the York company performed Shakespeare In His Cups in schools, as well as for visitors to the town’s annual wine festival.

“It was such a delight to have the colleagues from York participate in our theatre’s activities,” says Jane. “We enjoyed every minute of their stay and can’t wait to reciprocate with our guest performances of Adam’s Apples during our visit in April.”

Please note, the production has German dialogue with physical theatre movement and will include scene-by-scene commentary in English. The show deals with adult themes and violence and so is not suitable for anyone aged under 14.

The cast of Ronny Hoffmann, Olaf Hörbe, Tom Hantschel, Grian Duesberg, Sylvana Seddig, Michal Sandor, Jost-Ingolf Kittel and Damian Popp will be joined by two yet-to-be-confirmed York actors.

• Tickets £12, £10 concessions, £4 students on 01904 623568 at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk or in person at the De Grey Rooms.