Die Belagerung

Commissioned work for the Hessische Staatstheater Wiesbaden

Never has Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol been told in a manner so gentle and sad, comical and serious, brief and soft, sensual and Christmassy. With much singing and enthusiasm, Martin Baltscheit describes the reformation of Ebenezer Scrooge, the cold-hearted cheapskate who becomes a loveable old coot.

Is there a good reason for being born? This is the question Vito, the crown prince, asks immediately after sticking his head out of his mother’s womb. Stubbornly he insists on being persuaded; before he is, there is no reason for him to leave the warmth inside of the queen. Doctor, king, president and midwife, the witnesses of this miracle, are lost. They surpass each other in cajolery and display the full extent of the human search for meaning: indulgence, sensuality, belief, love. But it is for nothing. Sharp-tongued and clairvoyant, the infant exposes the flaws of every proposal. During the third night however, a cleaner discovers his head between the maternal legs. “Head in arse” she screeches and laughs and laughs and laughs and hits this curiosity with a broom. Vito becomes furious. Rants. And wants to catch her…

“As the described non-born remains between heaven and earth, between mother and ground, we remain with him in this intermediate realm. Blissful. Because for a long moment, theatre makes time stand still and together with the unborn prince we may search for the answers to the existential questions of what motivates us, what makes life worth living. Inspired by Büchner, this play engages the mind, unpretentiously, romantically, mischievously. Simply great.”
(Excerpt from the award justification of the Duisburg Children and Youth Theatre Award 2003 Kaas & Kappes)

Laika, the singing dog with the accordion, invites all the animals of the city to the winter circus on Christmas Eve. Anna was told about the winter circus by her animal-loving aunt Ruth, but her amazement grows when she is suddenly able to understand the language of animals shortly before Christmas. She is grateful to get away from her family’s Christmas preparations, the boring cookie baking, the childish rituals and especially the question about Santa. Even though she is only nine years old, Anna knows that this is only humbug and commerce. On Christmas Eve, Anna discovers two tickets for the winter circus on her pillow and, when she tries to sneak out, Aunt Ruth suddenly appears in her room and wants to accompany her. Together with hundreds of animals they trudge through the snow, in the guise of a mouse and a cat. The winter circus opens its doors.

The mysterious winter circus, ominous Aunt Ruth, the disguised Santa, a hedgehog searching for the meaning of life, flippant dad, Christmassy cheerful mom and insecure Anna make for a touching answer to the question of whether Santa, whether the unexplainable really exists.

“no matter what you believe/ and no matter who likes it/
if it serves life/ it fits into this world”

Der Winterzirkus is a wonderful background for festive fireworks of magic, sugary cookies and circus charms. The radio play was broadcast by Radio Berlin Brandenburg in 2003.

What do you do with a performance if the actors suddenly go on strike or are elsewhere? The director wants to cancel; the technician has already turned off the lights. Snow White Deluxe has to be cancelled, the audience is being sent home. But the audience doesn’t want to leave. A girl comes forward and thinks that the performance should still happen: if Snow White isn’t there, you could just invent another story. The director agrees. He gets Angelika on stage, and they playfully start inventing a story taken from real life – their own. Angelika, the sixteen-year-old daughter of a wealthy department store owner, has everything she wants and more. But she wants to kill herself. Only why?
The whole company gets involved in the play. They contribute their knowledge, take over different parts and search for the crux of the matter. Ben is brought in, a spectator just like Angelika, also sixteen. Ben’s story is about his unemployed father.

The play melts two stories into one. Using all the tools of theatre, it is told with a lot of humour and some feeling. One also gets to know quite a bit about theatre. But this isn’t a play in a play, but theatre becoming reality and reality only being real through theatre.