A man gives information - An Erich Kästner evening

Erich Kästner wrote his first poems in Leipzig's coffee houses. Today, a chansonnier from Leipzig meets the Dresden poet. Under the motto "A man gives information", the singer and the chronicler of his time meet on stage. Many of Erich Kästner's sharp observations are part of everyday vocabulary today: "There is nothing good unless you do it", for example.

People often speak Kästner without knowing it. In his homage to Kästner, Johannes Kirchberg makes a deep bow to the poet. He presents his own compositions of his contemporary and socially critical poetry. "Ein Mann gibt Auskunft" (A Man Gives Information) links Kästner's texts to his biography and finds references that form the basis for such well-known poems as "Sachliche Romanze" (Factual Romance) or "Der Mensch ist gut" (Man is Good). Kirchberg slips into the role of Erich Kästner with great acting persuasiveness and the simplest of means and brings the time between the wars to life. The setting could be a table in a coffee house, the place where many of Kästner's works are known to have been written.

Erich Kästner was asked in an interview what he would wish for if he had a wish for a fairy and replied: "It depends on what the fairy looks like". That sounds macho, like an outdated male image - if you don't have a sense of humor.

Tickets (18€/ with spa card: 15€) are available on 038220-80465.