Dr. Norman Franke's Talk (Aug 4th 2022)

/

Norman Franke captivated an attentive audience by reading a variety of short stories and poems written by himself in German and English. Before each reading, Norman explained unfamiliar words or phrases on the whiteboard and described the context and/or inspiration behind the story/poem. He used hand gestures and read with expression to aid with his storytelling. After the reading, the audience members asked Norman some questions and discussed further topics over some light refreshments.

Written by Vanessa Chong

German Drama Company: Die fragliche Insel (2022 Production)

/

The German Drama Company’s 2022 production, Die fragliche Insel (written by Courtney Sole, directed by Shalin Shah, and produced by Sofia Manai), was performed on 5th-9th July at the University of Auckland Drama Studio. Although the play was fully in German, it also had English surtitles (live captions) to allow audiences with a range of German language skills to enjoy it!

The cast acted fantastically and wore creative and colourful costumes to imitate their German/Swiss celebrity characters. The audience experienced many comedic scenes as the celebrities competed against each other to win one million dollars for their chosen charity.

The German Drama Company look forward to putting on more shows to promote the German language in the future! For more information about the German Drama Company and how to be part of future productions, visit: https://www.facebook.com/GermanDramaCompany/

Written by Vanessa Chong

Film Screening: Good Bye Lenin! (June 24th 2022)

/

The Auckland Goethe Society’s latest film screening was the classic German tragicomedy Good Bye Lenin! (2003), courtesy of the Goethe-Institut. This film begins in October 1989 in East Berlin, right before the fall of the Berlin Wall, where Alex Kerner is living with his mother and sister. But his mother, a loyal party member, falls into a coma and misses the revolution. After she wakes, doctors say any jarring event could make her have a heart attack, meaning the family must go to great lengths to pretend communism still reigns in Berlin. Our film nights are always a fantastic opportunity to engage with German films you may have never seen before—or seen several times! Approximately 30 people attended the film night and also enjoyed the free snacks: popcorn, juice, and Gummibärchen. We host film screenings semi-regularly, so keep an eye out for our next event.

Written by Eve Walter

AGS Speaker Event: Dr. Stephan Resch's Book Launch (June 16th 2022)

/

We had a good number of attendees both in person and on Zoom at Dr. Stephan Resch's book launch for his critical edition of Stefan Zweig's Ungeduld des Herzens. It was interesting to hear about the different editions of the book, including errors made by Zweig, and how those had all contributed to this latest edition. The audience was engaged and asked insightful questions. Stephan was pleased to have sold out the signed copies of his book and attendees enjoyed refreshments and a more informal discussion after the end of his presentation.

Written by Courtney Sole

Stammtisch (May 26th 2022)

/

We had a smaller group at Stammtisch this month, which provided a great opportunity for everyone to speak German with each other. Attendees who attended our other events this week expressed that they enjoyed themselves, while those who couldn’t be there were keen to attend future events. We had a couple of new faces as well as some familiar faces and everyone had a great time chatting about various topics while sipping on their drink of choice.

Written by Courtney Sole