I, Akira

How far can a dog's loyalty go? Akira would love to have a chat with his owner and explain that he's way off base. But nothing comes out of his mouth except "woof, woof." A dog is man’s best friend. That’s what they say. And Akira, a Siberian Husky, is deeply attached to his owner, “Papa Attila.” Attila adopted him as a puppy from the shelter and comforted him, since he knows exactly how it feels to finally be “freed” from a home. He, too, was adopted 41 years ago and given the name Attila Klaus Peter Hildmann. From now on, nothing can separate them. Akira has found a home with Papa Attila, gets fed three times a day, they go on long walks together, and cuddle up to fall asleep. Akira was there when his dad became famous for his vegan cookbooks, earned millions from them, and opened his vegan snack bars. Akira is also vegan, even though he dreams of bloody steaks at night. One day, when he witnesses Attila attaching the Reichskriegsflagge to his Porsche, driving up to the Old Museum, and beginning to glorify Hitler in front of a crowd, he is horrified and anything but proud of his owner. Akira is a very well-educated dog; he knows his history. And he doesn’t understand how someone who is so loving toward him can spout such nonsense. Akira finds himself in a dilemma: How far should a dog’s loyalty go? Akira would love to discuss this with his master, to explain to him that he’s on the wrong track. But nothing but a “woof, woof” would come out of his snout. That’s why he turns to the audience with his question—miraculously, he can speak to them. And this question packs a punch. How do you confront the creeping radicalization of your loved ones and those closest to you? How do you bridge the divide? How do you speak when the other person seems unreachable? The idea by the writing team Noëlle Haeseling and Leo Meier—to make Attila Hildmann’s dog the key witness to his master’s drift into conspiracy-ideological and far-right activism, a development the dog simply refuses to accept despite his inherent canine devotion—is both intelligent and humorous. by Noëlle Haeseling and Leo Meier