The Expectation

A powerful cyclone is approaching. In a panic, everyone tries to save themselves, becoming «survival beasts», sometimes at the expense of others. But then the storm unexpectedly veers off course, and the «shock of relief» is mixed with shame over their own behaviour. No one yet suspects that very soon the climate will change much more radically …

«With its perfectly structured sequence of scenes, The Expectation is the right play at the right time ... Laughter as an outlet in a major crisis situation without losing the necessary seriousness: this basic attitude gives Theresia Walser's plays their own humanity and entertainment value.» (Südkurier)
«Theresia Walser's text is biting and full of punchlines ... The expectation of the end times may not bring out the best in people, but there is also no orgiastic abandonment of boundaries. Everyone is too preoccupied with themselves and their own hurts ... In the end, two certainties remain: humans don't need disasters to destroy themselves – and they always expect the wrong ones.» (Die deutsche Bühne)
«In witty dialogues, various degrees of fear, and sophisticated allusions to the Bible, new coalitions are constantly forming, personal abysses are revealed ... The Expectation makes it physically palpable that the catastrophe will not come as a bang, but that the world will nevertheless come to an end, only not so spectacularly, but with a chilling whimper.» (Nachtkritik)