The Soldier and the Ballerina

Two toys, one made of tin, the other of paper: a soldier and a ballerina. They meet and it’s love at first sight… But—for there is always a but in a fairy tale—they are suddenly separated, lost in the outside world, in the city, in the world of adults. How to face this challenge? With its many set changes and characters, The Soldier and the Ballerina follows them on their adventures as they meet ruthless rats and other strange creatures in a quest to find each other again. Robert Sandoz and the company L’outil de la ressemblance adapt Roland Schimmelpfennig’s play for younger audiences, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Steadfast Tin Soldier. But unlike the well-known original, this version isn’t only interested in the soldier’s story: the ballerina also goes on her own adventures! The two characters’ mission is to tell us their story, to travel through a world nothing had prepared them for, to overcome obstacles, and above all not to forget to fall in love…

Roland Schimmelpfennig is a German writer and playwright, born in 1967. After an early career as a journalist and independent writer, he worked as a playwright and artistic advisor with the Berlin Schaubühne, under the direction of Thomas Ostermeier. He is one of the most popular German writers on European stages. The Soldier and the Ballerina is his second play for younger audiences.

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish novelist, playwright, storyteller, and poet. His fairy tales have been translated throughout the world. The Steadfast Tin Soldier tells the story of a one-legged tin soldier who falls madly in love with a toy ballerina, but finds himself thrown out of the child’s bedroom in which he lived. He then has to go through many sad adventures, far from the one he loves.

With Adrien Gygax, Lucie Rausis

Text by Roland Schimmelpfennig based on The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Andersen
Translation and direction Robert Sandoz
Music and sound environment Olivier Gabus
Set design, accessories Kristelle Paré
Lights Jérôme Bueche
Sound Karim Dubugnon 
Costumes, accessories Anne-Laure Futin assisted by Verena Dubach and Judith Dubois
Assistant direction Fanny Krähenbühl

General technical management Karim Dubugnon

Production L’outil de la ressemblance
Co-production Théâtre du Jura (Delémont), Théâtre Am Stram Gram (Geneva)
With the support of the Loterie Romande, Le Canton de Neuchâtel, La CORODIS, Pro Helvetia: Fondation suisse pour la culture, la Fondation culturelle de la BCN, la Fondation Neuchâteloise Assurance du 125ème anniversaire, la Fondation Casino Neuchâtel, la Fondation Sandoz et la Fondation Ernst Göhner
Set construction Atelier Act'

L'outil de la ressemblance is the beneficiary of a contract of trust with the City of Neuchâtel and a partnership with the Canton of Neuchâtel