Jannis Klasing

"The past burdens us, the present burdens us, and the future does not exist. What does it all mean? ….Meaning. A question about the meaning is the most wrong of all wrong questions.”

This debut play by the young author Jannis Klasing tells of the clash of two outsiders—the rough, deeply insecure Nina, who has hoped her entire life that someone will desire her, and Tom, who tries to hide from his problems in drugged ecstasies.

Nina is standing next to a telephone booth. As she waits for the longed-for call, she speaks into a tape recorder of all the despair of her young life. While searching for his party buddies, Tom finds Nina. In their different versions of solitude, they discover what they have in common. From a mutual desire for intimacy, they learn how to be loveable. Both of them feel insecure at the beginning of this new experience, both are constantly on guard against new disappointments. But while Tom expresses his love for Nina and even plans a life together with her, Nina slowly gives in to her fears. And then she hesitates too long. The phone rings, but Nina and Tom have long since disappeared.

"Nicht nichts is the name of this moving short drama, and it contains all of life in a 50-minute-long moment." (Taz hamburg)

"The young author succeeds due to his never-faltering imagination and develops an astonishing feeling for language, exchanging stubborn silence for a broad rhetoric rich in images and synonyms." (Süddeutsche Zeitung)

"What makes Klasing stand out is the dialogue. His figures express the feelings of the New Generation." (Die Welt)