My Slightly Strange Friend Walter

Eight-year-old Lisa can solder together computers from scrap metal and spends her evenings searching space with her astro-software for extraterrestrial life. She has good reason to do this: the life that she has to contend with on Earth is anything but pleasant. Since her parents lost their jobs, all they do is heave themselves from the bed to the sofa and back; family dinners or outings or conversations are over. At school, Lisa sits by herself and secretly reads books about physics while trying not to stand out during breaks. She is easy prey for teachers and bullies alike.

But one evening, an actual space ship lands in the forest near Lisa's neighbourhood. The group of extraterrestrial travellers takes just one brief, disgusted look at Earth before turning around, but in their haste to take off they leave one of their own behind: Klakalnamanazdt, or, as Lisa prefers to call him, Walter. On Walter’s planet, everyone is busy cuddling, playing, and looking out for one another; no wonder he finds Lisa's life extremely strange. He wastes no time bringing her life in order - until Lisa can manage without relying on a stranger’s powers.

My Slightly Strange Friend Walter is a play about friendship and taking small steps in a difficult situation. Steering a long way wide of mendacious self-improvement advice, Sibylle Berg gives her heroine the chance to change things - not everything, not by a long shot, but a few things.

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