Back to Uskow
Back to Uskow is a play by the famous children's book author Janosch (Horst Eckert). In this one-person piece , which is written for adults, Janosch takes a critical look at the Catholic Church , especially its sexual morality . The piece is subtitled or A Trace of God or The Dog of Cuernavaca .
content
Steiner, the person in the action, is preparing for his encounter with death and wants to face it with a laugh, because only then is his life successful. But he does not want to succeed, and in search of the mistake in his life he goes back to his childhood in Uskov and, supported by several recordings on a television set, turns to the audience in a monologue, which he sometimes also as a Uskovite appeals.
At the age of seven he was in love with a girl named Traudi, but this was destroyed by the Catholic religious instruction, as the woman was presented to him as an instrument of the devil and a source of unchastity; At twelve he learned in the Catholic education lesson to combat lust with a cold rag. Because of this "confusion of his child's soul" he hates the Catholic Church. (Curtain)
As an adolescent he suffered from conflict with Catholic sexual morality and became addicted to alcohol. On his decades-long search for a trace of God , Steiner discovered contradictions and finally accused: "I ... can't get all this out of my head. Spent a whole life on it, gone through all the fires, and I can't get rid of the hatred. Because they destroyed my love for Traudi. "
As part of his work as a stonemason, he came to restoration work in the Mexican city of Cuernavaca , where he observed a scarred dog that was kicked and thrown stone when he took what he needed to live, but what he needed for his tormentor did not even show contempt ". Steiner sees his relationship to God in this special dog-human relationship. He has been able to live since this experience, but the hatred has remained.
Finally Steiner discovers the mistake of his life, he strives to overcome this hatred. He says: "I once knew someone who lived effortlessly ... and I asked him how he did it. I told him about the stone I wear and that I wanted to get rid of a hatred - it wouldn't work. He said : WANTING is the mistake, Steiner. "
With this knowledge the piece ends. There is a knock on the door and Steiner leaves the stage laughing. (Curtain)
Remarks
The book contains ten colored etchings in the typical Janosch style, on the cover of the book a man (Steiner) carries three oversized stones on his back as a symbol of the burden placed upon him.
The first edition was published by Merlin Verlag in 1992 , and the play premiered in four German cities at the same time in 1993.
The name Uskow is fictional, it stands for Janosch's hometown Zabrze (German Hindenburg OS).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Janosch: Back to Uskow or a trace of God or the dog of Cuernavaca , Merlin Verlag 1992, 2nd edition, ISBN 3-926-11234-4
- ↑ Janosch: Back to Uskow or a trace of God or the dog of Cuernavaca , Merlin Verlag 1992, ISBN 3-442-42579-4
- ↑ Back to Uskow in DER SPIEGEL 36/1993