The play “Ein Känguru wie du” (A kangaroo like you) by Ulrich Hub was staged at the Kasemettentheater in November.

In a letter to interim chamber president Gast Gibéryen (also from the ADR) Fernand Kartheiser claims that parents were told by their children from a 4.2 school cycle class (usually aged 11) that the play “was primarily about homosexuality”. He then asks the education minister whether attendance was obligatory or if parents were allowed to choose whether their child attended.

He also wanted to know “how many classes and of what age group had already been made to go see the play” and who was responsible for the organisation of the school trips. And Kartheiser wants to know if the minister thinks it appropriate for children of the 4.2 cycle age to watch a play about homosexuality and whether they will also be taken to see plays featuring “heterosexual, traditional and natural families that promoted that lifestyle in a positive light”.

Krieps calls ADR cretins

A quick read of a synopsis of the play, which was published in 2015, reveals that the kangaroo is the only main character that is homosexual. On his website, Hub explains that “only adults” have a problem with his play. “They probably look at the word ‘gay’ and think the play is about sexuality, and they imagine hopping, copulating kangaroos on stage. But it is simply about love.” He explains that the play is about preferences, whether that be a man who loves a woman, a man who loves a man, a kid who love pizza or an adult who loves piña coladas.

Social media users in Luxembourg were quick to criticise Kartheiser, and especially his description of “natural families”. Among those commenting on Facebook was LSAP Luxembourg City councillor Tom Krieps, who said he took his 9-year old son to the play, which he described as “very lovely and tolerant” as opposed to the “disgusting and defunct club of cretins at the ADR”. Krieps says he will no longer shake the hand of any ADR politician and closes his post with the words “No more Mr Nice Guy!”

“Ein Känguru wie du” is being reprised at Neimënster in February.