by Volker Schmidt
Directed by: Volker Schmidt
"Actually, it's beautiful" takes a close look at the relationships of a generation that's leading in running away from obligations, always on the look-out for something better. A performance about people in their 30's, well educated, sliding from one temporary job to the other, always on the go, whom live in semi-furnished apartments, but whose social media profiles are constantly updated and well maintained. Behind the ordinariness of self- presentation on Facebook hides the drama of looking for the right relationship. How to live and how to love? The aspiration of finding the great love remains unchanged. The performance "Actually, it's beautiful" stems exactly from the contradiction between the romantic notion of an endless relationship and real life conditions of today's generation. Because in appearance we have everything we need, but at a closer look there's still something missing… the phrase "actually" thus becoming the motto of an entire generation."
"Schmidt's play talks about young people, so self confident and free, that they don't know who they are and where they want to go. They are all artists, well-off people; they have long-distance relationships, and talk on Skype, on the phone, they chat, and do anything in order to distract from how lonely they actually are. Their fickle nature makes an ordinary life impossible. [...] Schmidt manages to convey Generation Y's inability to communicate: although the characters are situated close to one another, in reality they are kilometres away. [...] Actually, it's beautiful constantly oscillates between parody and ludic on one side and gloomy tragedy on the other. Amusing incidents generate disasters, Schmidt unmasks the lack of responsibility of his characters and shows the consequences of their actions. [...] The roles are an amazing fit with the actors. It's a pleasure to watch them on stage, especially when they are all together. In the background a Greek tragedy is brewing, but, in the modern outfit of the post-MTV generation, everything seems half as bad. Somehow we'll pull this off, seems to be the conclusion."