| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Leader: | |
| When: | Times: Variable – am/pm/lunch/evening. Venues: Variable – members’ homes, pubs, café, restaurant and others |
A small friendly group with the common aim of speaking and improving their German.
Meetings will be held in a variety of venues to encourage language development in different environments.
Dates and times of meetings will vary to enable members with other commitments to attend at least some of the meetings.
Each meeting will have a different focus and members will learn/improve their skills through speaking in/listening to German. For this reason, the Group is likely to appeal to those with fluency level of intermediate or above, even if they feel they are ‘rusty’.
It is hoped that all members, who are willing and able, will take turns in organising the meetings. For more information, please contact the Group Leader.
Louise Fanfarillo includes some details of Group meetings below...
May 2026 - Sprich mal Deutsch Summer outing
On the second hottest May day on record, four members enjoyed a trip to All Bar One in Nottingham for a light lunch, followed by a performance of “ Ein Komisches Talent” or “Comic Potential” in English at the Lacemarket Theatre. This was an Alan Ayckbourn play performed in German by the visiting Theater “Die Kaeuze” group from Karlsruhe in Germany.
Comic Potential is a 1998 science-fiction satire and romantic comedy. Set in a near-future television industry where human actors are replaced by androids ("actoids"), it follows a naïve young writer who falls in love with a female android who possesses a unique, unprogrammed creative imagination.
The major themes are...
Humanity vs. Machinery: The play explores what it truly means to be human. Ayckbourn contrasts the logical, unemotional androids with the irrational, messy nature of human love and laughter.
Corporate Greed vs. Art: It serves as a biting satire of the television industry, criticizing the relentless pursuit of ratings over artistic integrity.
The Pygmalion Myth: The narrative acts as a modern, sci-fi twist on the classic story of Pygmalion (or My Fair Lady), where a creator attempts to mould and educate a "blank slate" figure.
We all enjoyed the play but admitted that we found the language difficult to follow especially in the second half which contained a scene in a brothel spoken largely in heavily accented German and a long climactic scene where many of the actors spoke their lines very excitedly and rapidly.
The next meeting is planned as a walk around Newstead Abbey in July and we hope to see more of
our members then, weather permitting, of course!
March 2026 - The Mammoth Cinema, Nottingham
In March a few of our members enjoyed an outing to The Mammoth Cinema, Nottingham.
The tiny Mammoth cinema on Broad Street is a self-proclaimed ‘climate action cinema’ and a ‘hub for sharing ideas about how we can all contribute towards a better, fairer, and greener future - focused around film’.
The German film we attended was Aguirre: Der Zorn Gottes (Aguirre: The Wrath of God). Made in 1972 this epic historical drama was written and directed by Werner Herzog and is considered a pinnacle of the New German Cinema movement. Klaus Kinski stars in the title role of ruthless and rebellious Spanish soldier Lope de Aguirre, who leads a group of conquistadores down the Amazon River in an ill-fated search for the legendary city of gold, El Dorado.
Using a minimalist approach to story and dialogue, the film creates a vision of madness and folly, counterpointed by the lush but unforgiving Amazonian jungle. Although loosely based on what is known of the historical Lope de Aguirre, Herzog acknowledged years after the film's release that its storyline is a work of fiction.
"Aguirre, the Wrath of God" is often interpreted as an allegory of imperialist ruin and the futility of human ambition. The film's exploration of madness and obsession resonates with contemporary themes of ecological collapse and expansionist violence.
I think it would be fair to say that it was a very good workout for our German listening skills, (even if there were brief subtitles in English) but we found the scenes of extreme violence and summary executions difficult to watch.
December 2025 - The Odeon Cinema, Mansfield
Four members of the German speakers group recently enjoyed a Christmas outing to Mansfield Odeon cinema to see the film “Nuremburg” and a meal at neighbouring restaurant Bella Italia.
The film tells the story of the psychological battle between Herman Goering and the American military psychologist Douglas Kelley, leading up to and during the famous Nuremburg trials. Goering was played by Russell Crowe who learned German for the role and was excellent as the narcissistic and terrifyingly charming Reichsmarschall. Kelley as portrayed by Remi Malek was a man with one eye on keeping the captured Nazis alive until they could be brought to justice for their crimes and the other on writing a bestselling book and becoming famous.
We were all thoroughly captivated and a little shocked by the film and appreciated the chance to wind down together with an Italian meal afterwards. The highlights being a delicious plate of sea bass for one diner and a scrumptious chocolate fondant for another.