Talk show for Rietzschel: Theater gives successful author a stage

The writer Lukas Rietzschel is to have his own series of events at the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater in Görlitz. The special format entitled "Rietzschel's Utopias" will be thematically based on the motto of the next season, said artistic director Daniel Morgenroth. A "somewhat different talk show" has been announced to talk about visions in an "intelligent and entertaining way with interesting guests". After the premiere on October 16, three more episodes are planned until April. "This is going to be something special," was the message at the presentation of the plans for 2025/2026, as the East Saxon theater continues its collaboration with the Görlitz author, whose novel "Mit der Faust in die Welt schlagen" has since been made into a film. Rietzschel was commissioned by the theater to write the play "The Exemplary Life of Samuel W.", which is about the rise, views and fictional life of a populist politician. The "socially relevant" play will remain in the repertoire, Morgenroth said. Following the successful premiere in Zittau in 2024, the production has since been shown at festivals in Leipzig, Berlin, Heidelberg and Mühlheim an der Ruhr.

Difficult financial situation

The Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater is opening the upcoming season in Görlitz with a world premiere. On September 13, the family opera "Krabat" will be performed there in a co-production with the Lausitz-Festival. The composer Marius Felix Lange has been commissioned to write a work for musical theater based on the Sorbian legend. The four-division theater's schedule for the next season includes a total of 27 premieres, including an open-air production of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" on Zittau's market square in 2026. In May 2026, the theater will host the 13th Saxon Theatertreffen at its two locations in Zittau and Görlitz. "It will be a packed program," said Morgenroth.

According to the artistic director, the balance sheet for 2024 shows around 700 performances, which were seen by a total of around 170,000 spectators. The financial situation, on the other hand, is "catastrophic". There is currently a deficit of almost 1.4 million euros.