Liebe / Eine argumentative Übung

Olivia Öl (Olive Oil) is a strong woman, an aspiring novelist, and her autonomy is very important to her. Popeye the sailor has muscles, tattoos and wants to be a film director. When they meet at a language school, Olivia is immediately attracted to Popeye and flattered that the attraction seems to be mutual. But soon she begins to feel that each date with this magnificent specimen of a man could be the last. To make sure that the relationship works out, Olivia begins to compromise, even though she never wanted to share a bank account, or a flat. After all, it’s nice to finally be part of a couple and to feel the glances of those whose heads are turned by Popeye. And would anyone really say that a relationship doesn’t take work or sacrifices? So she supports Popeye’s creative projects – even though his screenplay has never progressed beyond the first two pages and he hasn’t even read Olivia’s novels. As an author, she raises a strong voice against the patriarchy and stereotypical divisions of duties; at home, she doesn’t talk much, for fear that her shrill voice might annoy him. But finally, Olivia is seized by a mythical rage and enters her own gender’s combat zone.

Olive Oil had already been a main character of E.C. Segar’s comic “Thimble Theatre” for ten years when Popeye made his first appearance in 1929. Initially conceived as a minor character by whom Olivia had shown herself unimpressed, the sailor with the grotesque arms soon hijacked the entire strip, which was to be called “Popeye” only a few years later.

Sivan Ben Yishai examines the two-dimensional surfaces of these two comic characters for the purpose of an argumentative exercise, radically and explicitly challenging our ideas of love, modern couple relationships and handed down patterns. Working on the premise that the private has always been political, intimate details are mercilessly dissected and publicly negotiated. Sivan Ben Yishai does this in a cleverly debunking and very funny way.

Why does the wish for independence clash with our own desire and our longing for love? What would devotion without sacrifice look like? These are some of the questions negotiated in the 2026 Studio Production. For the eight acting students of Neues Studio Leipzig, this is one of the pinnacles of their training. The director is Katrin Plötner, who has staged several productions at Schauspiel Leipzig as well as at Schauspiel Frankfurt, Residenztheater München, Nationaltheater Mannheim, Staatsschauspiel Dresden and Schauspielhaus Graz.