Schwerin/Neubrandenburg (dpa/mv) – Witches, ghosts and princesses will take over the reigns in the theaters of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the coming weeks: the theater makers want to entertain thousands of young and young at heart viewers again this year during the Advent season with traditional Christmas fairy tales.

The premieres are happening in quick succession: the first curtain for “The Christmas Story” by Charles Dickens will rise this Saturday in the Neubrandenburg theater, as the theater announced on Monday. In the Landestheater Neustrelitz, which also belongs to the Theater- und Orchester GmbH, “The Little Witch” based on Otfried Preußler is on the program from December 9th.

“We play a lot of morning performances a week for the district’s schools and daycare centers, which are almost all sold out,” said a spokeswoman for the Theater und Orchester GmbH Neubrandenburg/Neustrelitz. On the weekends, afternoons are played for the general public. A total of 33 performances of the two classics are to be shown during the Advent and Christmas season. There are also numerous puppet shows for the little ones, as the spokeswoman said.

The Mecklenburg State Theater is also bringing two classics to the stage: The fairy tale “The Swineherd” has already premiered at the Young Theater in Parchim and “The Robber Hotzenplotz” based on Otfried Preussler is set to make the stage unsafe this Thursday in the Big House in Schwerin. According to a spokeswoman, almost 40 performances are on the schedule by December 23. “The performances for schools and daycare centers are already fully booked.”

“Anneliese und Peterchens Mondfahrt” has been running at the Volkstheater Rostock since November 12th. According to a theater spokeswoman, 27 performances are planned until December 27th. And the same applies in Rostock: the daycare and school performances are sold out. There are still tickets around Christmas, the spokeswoman said. At the Theater Vorpommern there is “Aladin and the Magic Lamp” as well as a scenic reading of “Christmas Goose Auguste”. With Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker”, the ballet dances the dance classic par excellence.