Saxony's open-air theaters also play under grey skies

Grey skies and rain showers have been the order of the day for open-air theaters in Saxony so far this summer. Many spectators have not been put off by this, but the weather has been a challenge for the theaters - sometimes there has been no choice but not to open the curtain at all.

So far, two performances in the summer program of the Felsenbühne Rathen in Saxon Switzerland have had to be cancelled due to the weather: One was the family play "Little Red Riding Hood" and the other was the stage version of Sabine Ebert's novel "The Midwife's Trail".

"For an open-air stage in the middle of nature, such weather-related cancellations are not unusual, but nevertheless regrettable - both for the audience and for the ensemble," said the Landesbühnen Sachsen in response to a dpa inquiry.

Many decide at short notice

The changeable weather is having an impact on booking behavior in particular. "Many people are deciding on a visit at much shorter notice. This makes long-term planning more difficult."

The season runs until September 7. Last year, the Felsenbühne attracted around 62,000 visitors. As things stand, the Landesbühnen are expecting stable income.

No seats remained free for the musical production of "Alice in Wonderland" in the courtyard of Ortenburg Castle in Bautzen. "We were less affected by the capricious weather," said the Deutsch-Sorbisches Volkstheater Bautzen. "Nothing had to be canceled and we were completely sold out." More than 35,600 spectators attended the 35 performances in total. The season has now ended.

The Plauen-Zwickau Theatre is also focusing on a musical for its open-air program in both cities this summer: "The Medicus", based on the bestselling novel by Noah Gordon. No performance has been canceled yet, but at least one had to be interrupted due to the weather.

Audience growth for the musical in Plauen

"We were totally lucky," said Anne Sandmann from the Plauen-Zwickau Theatre. "The weather was still quite good for the eight performances in Plauen until the end of June." At around 8,000, the number of spectators was even significantly higher than last year. There will be further performances of the musical in Zwickau in August after the summer break. "We hope that these three performances will also go well."

The season at the Greifenstein Festival in the Erzgebirge continues until the end of August. "The weather has not had a noticeable effect, there have been no cancellations or drop-outs," said Erzgebirgische Theater und Orchester GmbH. "Ticket sales were also good."

There were three premieres and three revivals at the Naturbühne Greifensteine in the Erzgebirgskreis, including the family play "Drachen haben nichts zu lachen" and Otfried Preußler's "Die kleine Hexe". Rain clouds did not deter the audience: According to the theater, the number is at the same level as usual.