Bühne Cipolla - Schachnovelle

In the organizer's words:

"Schachnovelle" was first published in December 1941 and is one of Stefan Zweig's best-known works alongside "Sternstunden der Menschheit" (1927) and "Ungeduld des Herzens" (1938).

The story takes place on board a ship on its way from New York to Buenos Aires. Strange passengers stroll along the quarterdeck. A millionaire oil magnate and a money-addicted world chess champion engage in manic board game battles, while the mysterious Dr. B. struggles with the ghosts of his past. As the asset manager of a renowned law firm, he fell into the hands of dictatorial powers who tried to extract various banking secrets from him by means of months of solitary confinement and grueling interrogations.

Which is crueler: physical or mental torture? How much loneliness can a person endure? Stefan Zweig's master novella is a plea for self-determination and creativity.

A few printed lines - the banal tasks of a chess revision course - help Dr. B. to survive. But the longed-for salvation through mental occupation turns into the fatal opposite when he begins to play chess against himself in his head. Dr. B. despairs because, thrown back on himself again and again, he inevitably ends up saying "Mate!"

Puppetry, play version, direction, stage, make-up, lighting design: Sebastian Kautz
Violoncello, keyboards, composition, sound design: Gero John
Puppet construction, costume design, tailoring, stage painter: Melanie Kuhl
Technical equipment, lighting design: Frank Barufke

further information here