Wolfgang Bahro Overcomes His Riding Fears for Karl May Games

Bad Segeberg. If Wolfgang Bahro standing in front of his horse, he still has a slightly queasy feeling in his stomach. But that will change, of that he is quite sure. The Berlin actor wants to premiere the current Karl May production „Winnetou I – Blutsbrüder“ both Karl May games in Bad Segeberg sit firmly in the saddle. Indirectly, it is the fellow actor Sasha Hehn thanks to Bahro being willing to enter the Kalkberg Arena at all.

Wolfgang Bahro is a nice guy, but on screen he’s the ultimate mean guy. Nobody can imagine a bigger bastard: As lawyer Jo Gerner he has been pulling a lot of strings in the long-running soap “Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten” for 31 years – and most of the time that doesn’t lead to anything good. That’s exactly why he was hired to play the biggest baddie in the Karl May universe: Bahro has taken on the role of the villain Santer.

Karl May games: why Wolfgang Bahro is now getting on the horse

That’s not a problem for Wolfgang Bahro, but riding is. Because he has no horse experience. This is not a problem for those responsible for the Karl May Games in Bad Segeberg. Other important actors also walked the arena: Christian Kohlund and Mathieu Carrière, for example, never sat on a horse during their Karl May days.

That’s exactly what Wolfgang Bahro wanted to do – always ready to get one over on his opponents, but never on horseback. But now everything has turned out completely differently: he has actually been sitting on “his” horse since last Friday. Because on this day the horses were rehearsing in the arena for the first time. So far there haven’t been any problems.

Wolfgang Bahro started riding training in November

In fact, Wolfgang Bahro started riding training in November in order to cut a good figure at the Karl May Games. The trigger for his change of heart was his fellow actor Sascha Hehn, who played the oil prince at Kalkberg last season. Bahro, who had actually never sat on a horse before, did not want to show any weakness. “I saw that Sascha Hehn was also riding,” says Wolfgang Bahro. “I didn’t want to be inferior to him.”

Apparently it wasn’t easy for the 62-year-old actor. He admits with a smile: “The riding instructor had a lot of work with me”. Twice a week Wolfgang Bahro had to show up in the riding arena, and later the Karl May riding director Sylvia Kassel introduced him to the horse intended for him. The work was worth it. “At least on level ground I’m firmly in the saddle,” says Bahro. “We’ll see how it looks on the slope.” After all, he will be able to “ride in and out” with his horse.

When a horse reacted incorrectly, Katy Karrenbauer landed roughly in the sand of the arena

His colleague Katy Karrenbauer, co-star of last year’s performances, told him how unpredictable even performance-proven horses can be. It landed roughly on the sand because a draft horse had taken the sudden applause as a sign that it was time to gallop out of the arena. Katy Karrenbauer was thrown from the horse-drawn carriage but was not injured.

The “mistake” lay with the audience: they applauded in the wrong place because a goose that had escaped from the arena had been caught by a spectator and brought back again. Wolfgang Bahro sees this as a warning: “You always have to expect that the animals will react differently than planned.” But he is certain that experienced Karl May colleagues will be at his side with advice and action.

TV bully Jo Gerner inspects his companies in South Africa

The TV studio in Babelsberg, where “Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten” is filmed, will probably not have to go back to Wolfgang Bahro until August in order to film a few scenes between the Segeberg performances. Otherwise Jo Gerner has a break. “My TV character went to South Africa to inspect some of the companies he had founded,” says Wolfgang Bahro. “That explains his absence from the show.”

What differences does he see between working in the studio and working in the Kalkberg Arena? “In Bad Segeberg, the work is spread out over the whole day, I’m available for filming at certain times,” says the actor, who attests the Karl May team a “very professional job”.

Nevertheless, according to the well-versed actor, taking part in the Karl May plays is and remains a real challenge. “Playing in front of so many people is a big challenge.” And Wolfgang Bahro is sure he will have stage fright before every performance. “In situations like this, I always ask myself why I didn’t actually become a civil servant.”

Updated: Monday, 06/05/2023, 6:15 p.m