State stage (Lenz)

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Landesbühne is a novella by Siegfried Lenz that was published by Hoffmann und Campe in 2009 .

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A theater performance for the prisoners is to take place in Isenbüttel prison. Cellmates Hannes and Clemens watch from the window as the ensemble of the Landesbühne arrives in a bus. Later, during the break in the performance, some prisoners, including Clemens and Hannes, break out on the bus. The gatekeeper takes them for the actors and lets them pass. The carnation festival is currently being celebrated in neighboring Grünau, and there, too, people mistake the escapes for actors and are happy that the state theater has come especially for its city festival. Hannes, who is recognized as the leader by the other prisoners, decides to stay in town for the time being.

The mayor of the city would like to use the resulting contacts to the supposed state stage to turn his small town into a cultural center: Hannes is to put together a local museum, while Clemens, a former professor of German studies, is to give lectures and set up an adult education center. The newspaper made these activities known beyond the local community, and the prison director appeared at a lecture by Clemens. But he makes no move to arrest the escapees again, but says goodbye to Clemens only with the suggestion that they will see each other again.

Later, the escapees decide to drive out of the city at night without warning and to flee to Denmark. Their departure is noticed, however, and they are told that those of them who have made a special contribution to the city will be awarded medals. The medal ceremony takes place on the following Friday, and the escapees are escorted directly from the stage to the bus by a trellis and brought back to prison.

Hannes, who has already tried two other escape attempts, is very sad and apathetic. Another prisoner in the next cell hangs himself. Soon afterwards, the Landesbühne returns to a guest performance in prison. It is supposed to be played by Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot . Hannes can't stand the scene in which Vladimir and Tarragon consider hanging themselves from the tree and leaves the hall. Clemens follows him, calms him down and brings him back into the hall.

Hannes and two other prisoners plan another attempt to break out while working in the garden, which he also tells Clemens about. The other two also carry out the plan, but Clemens returns from gardening and confesses to his friend and cellmate that he did not want to leave him alone for the two years that both still have to serve.

Style and narrative

Clemens is the first-person narrator of the story. Readers only find out his name relatively late because Hannes always calls him “Professor”.

The prisoners seem extremely harmless and the relationships between prisoners, guards and the director are very respectful, almost amicable. The breakout attempt initially seems very easy and smooth. The harmlessness of the plot tipped over at the moment of arrest: From Clemens' observations, however, the reader can guess that the breakout attempt was doomed to failure from the start and that the prison director only wanted to allow the escapees a few days of fun before he has them arrested again . The reference to Waiting for Godot indicates that there is no escape for Hannes and Clemens either and that they can only hold on to each other.

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