“The storytellers go on, the auto industry goes on, the workers go on, the governments go on, the rock 'n' roll singers go on, the prices go on, the paper goes on, the animals and trees go on, day and night go on, the moon rises, the sun rises, eyes open, doors open, mouths open, people speak.” And speaking it is: Rolf Dieter Brinkmann! Enfant terrible of the West German literary scene, run over from the right when he looked to the left. What begins as reflection on his own life soon becomes the furious stroll of a young man through the streets of Cologne: West German post-war stifling atmosphere in his sights, armed with a tape recorder. His constant companion is his idiosyncratic poetic mind. In sprawling cascades of hatred, Brinkmann captures the horror of the world, the city, the street with a devilish laugh – in angular beauty. "The Words Are Evil" is the title of a 1974 WDR radio play, written, narrated, and edited by Brinkmann himself. Director and set designer Wolfgang Menardi brings this breathless march through 1970s Cologne to the stage, enriched by poems from Brinkmann's work. A merciless look at the city of Cologne, full of humor and well-hidden beauty between concrete buildings and tiled floors.

Mason Manning

Events

Upcoming events

May 16, 2026

The words are evil · Bühnen Köln

About

Mason Manning hasn't added a bio