Why Are Workers Only Classy on Stage?

Fake it till you make it: in Der Hauptmann von Köpenick the ensemble directed by Sebastian Hartmann can play many roles. In this story that revolves around emancipatory role play, a ruse to cross class boundaries is the key incident that allows a nameless worker to raise his status and gain immediate respect by putting on a military uniform. For the historical Wilhelm Voigt (1849 – 1922) his calculated performance as the “Captain from Köpenick” was the most lucrative period of his life. The media’s marketing of his Köpenick caper gained him far more fame and wealth than his precarious, nomadic working life as a cobbler – and ensured Voigt’s lasting reputation. Without his stunt with the uniform, we would not now know who he was. Why are proletarian characters only interesting when they are dramatised through the media? And what does this say about the classism of culture and society? The conversation between the rapper Ebow and Professor of Social Work Francis Seeck looks for answers to these questions.