Oliver Wnuk and Konstanz students stage youth production for Queen Silvia

Stage production at Lake Constance

Actor and author Oliver Wnuk has developed a youth stage production titled "wir_jetzt-hier" alongside pupils from his former comprehensive school in Konstanz. The production is scheduled for performance on 7 and 8 October 2026 at the Bodenseeforum venue on the shores of Lake Constance. An audience of approximately 800 guests will attend the staging, which includes an official appearance by Queen Silvia of Sweden. Wnuk, known for his regular role in the television crime series "Nord Nord Mord", developed the initiative over a twelve-month preparation period. Ten students from the Geschwister-Scholl-Schule collaborated directly with the 50-year-old actor to structure the material. Wnuk stated that his goal was to help young people discover their own identity and chart their own path in life alongside others.

Foundation anniversary and royal patronage

The performance is organised to mark the ten-year anniversary of Mentor-Stiftung Deutschland, where Wnuk serves as an official ambassador. Queen Silvia established the international Mentor movement in 1994 in cooperation with the World Health Organisation. The organisation works across multiple countries to provide adolescents with improved future prospects, prevent social isolation, and support vulnerable families. Wnuk expressed deep respect for the 82-year-old Swedish monarch, pointing to her decades of sustained commitment to international youth and child welfare initiatives.

Workshop themes and coping with everyday pressure

The foundation for the stage production emerged from intensive workshops conducted with teenagers aged 14 to 17. The sessions focused on exploring the contrast between appearance and reality while determining the core values that matter to participants. Discussions led the teenagers to highlight freedom, self-determination, love, and dignity as their primary guiding principles. Wnuk described these choices as timeless values that offer stability during adolescence. He observed that modern teenagers face heavy expectations and external demands both inside and outside the classroom.

I have the feeling that the pressure on youth today is immense, also in school. But far too little is done for what really matters in life.

Wnuk explained that young people frequently adopt specific habits to shield themselves from sensory overload and daily stress.

I often sense real tactics among young people today to deal with everyday life and its all too many external influences. For example, by putting on noise-cancelling headphones to create a moment of silence in all the internal and external chaos.

Ensemble collaboration and staging

The stage production combines the work of the ten student actors with an extensive musical ensemble. The Bodensee Philharmonie participates with 65 orchestral musicians, performing alongside a 60-member choir from the Geschwister-Scholl-Schule and a four-piece rock band. The stage production also incorporates pyrotechnic elements to complement the live musical arrangements and spoken dialogue. Wnuk, who is a father to a 22-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son, noted that the piece allows the teenagers to express authentic vulnerability on stage.

It is a very tender evening where the young people show an extreme amount of emotion.