Leonce and Lena (Leonce und Lena)

Crown Prince Leonce is bored and frustrated by his existence. The prospect of a life as king seems just as meaningless to him as a marriage to Princess Lena. He flees to Italy with the idler Valerio. Likewise, Lena also searches for ideals, resists this arranged engagement and flees into the distance. Without knowing each other, the two meet and fall head over heels in love. Masked as automatons, they are married in place of the untraceable royal children - only to discover after the unpuppeting that what they hoped to escape from has come to pass.

In connection with Büchner's pamphlet Der Hessische Landbote (The Hessian Courierr) and in a first-time collaboration with choreographer Jefta van Dinther, director Ulrich Rasche examines the comedy Leonce und Lena (1836) for its political content: as a fundamental social analysis and radical critique of the self-reference and ignorance of the ruling class. While she holds all the levers in her hand to change social conditions in favour of the exploited, she excuses her inaction with the hopelessness of personal action, the impossibility of influencing the world and the fundamental lostness in the universe.

Note: The production of Leonce and Lena uses extreme volume levels in places.
Free hearing protection is available at the entrance and cloakrooms.