Fans of international theater are sure to be delighted by Klown: Prick Us and We’ll Burst, the American premiere by the German satirical theater troupe Die Hanswurste (literally translated “the blood sausages”). The show, which opens this weekend at the Chicago Actors Ensemble, is a retrospective of the troupe’s best work from the last ten years, which they refer to as “clown performance art.” It would seem that Chicago has been bestowed with a great honor, to be the first American city to host one of Europe’s finest theater groups. But are Die Hanswurste all they claim to be?
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In interviewing Kemper I noticed that his accent tended to fluctuate between German and English, sometimes even sounding Russian. When I mentioned this to him, he laughed. “We have been all over the world,” he said. “Sometimes it is hard to get our accents straight.”
