SCARY TALES

We chat with Tiit Ojasoo who, alongside partner Ene-liis Semper, was responsible for directing Hänsel & Gretel at Hamburg’s Thalia Theater

What made Lindemann perfect candidates to score Hänsel & Gretel?

Tiit Ojasoo: “When we started to think about the concept for Hänsel & Gretel, the key words were ‘dark’ and ‘grotesque’. So we looked for someone who could cope with our concept. We first met Till in Berlin and described how Hänsel got fat and ugly after Witch force-fed him with burgers and hot dogs. He started to laugh and said he was in.”

Till played the part of the Phantom in the production. What was it like to work with him?

“Till is really cool in person and he’s really focused. We had a week [shooting] in the Thalia Theater, Hamburg. From that period, the first thing I recall is a cycle of nonstop workingtalking-drinking. One has to be well-trained and experienced to stay online for more than 120 hours… but everybody worked their asses off because they liked Till so much.”

What was the first song that the band played for you that they wrote for the production?

“The first song was Schlaf ein, where Phantom ensnares kids in the woods. It was also the first video that we shot [to be used in the production] on a remote Estonian island. We worked in 365 degrees of woods and several times our cars and crew got lost in that ocean of pine trees. Till asked if he could work barefoot and Ene-liis said, ‘Go ahead, but it’s wild nature.’ So Till took off his boots and Ene-liis did the same, as a sign of solidarity.”