Nikolai
Gralak Actor

Nikolai Gralak, born in 1986, joined Theater HORA in 2014, where he immediately took part in the production ‹Mars Attacks!›, a collaboration between HORA and the Berlin foam puppet theatre Das Helmi. His subsequent appearances in plays such as ‹Human Resources› (2015), ‹Die 120 Tage von Sodom› (2016), ‹Bob Dylans 115ter Traum› (2018), ‹Kotaktkiller› (2018), ‹Medea, die› (2020), ‹Planet HORA› (2021), ‹Theater der Klientinnen› (2022) and ‹Riesenhaft in Mittelerde› (2023) were all cult favourites. He is a so-called character actor: someone who does not have to «transform» into a character in order to embody it congenially; a kind of natural acting talent, as if made for the classic character repertoire. More of a minimalist in terms of physical commitment and engagement, he has a great presence and a talent for the situational, for improvisation, is eloquent and confident in dealing with texts - and absolutely incorruptible in terms of what he gets involved with artistically and what he doesn't. In general, he always exudes a certain authority on stage. His acting is realistic and grounded, characterised by a dry sense of humour and a tendency towards the tabloid. And he is «a marvellous singer» (Simone Gisler). In his private life, he enjoys shopping, time travel, zombies, series, comedies and comedies, as well as history and politics. Above all, however, he is a passionate fantasy fan, collects audiobooks and DVDs and has had a Disney Plus subscription since 2022. In the 25/26 season, he will be on stage for the first time at Theater Basel in ‹Gesellschaft mit besonderer Hingabe (GmbH)› by director Christoph Marthaler.