ASPHALT FESTIVAL 2026: Kaleb Erdmann - »Die Ausweichschule«

In the organizer's words:

On the last day of the Abitur exams in 2002, shots are fired at Erfurt's Gutenberg Gymnasium. Kaleb Erdmann experienced this day as an eleven-year-old, was evacuated with his classmates and, in the weeks that followed, registered the helplessness of the adults in the face of the crime. More than 20 years later, he revisited the rampage for a literary project. "Die Ausweichschule" was nominated for the German Book Prize 2025 and won the Deutschlandfunk Kultur sponsorship award. The novel is a skillful play with perspectives. Kaleb Erdmann takes a critical look at the audience and himself as the narrator: How voyeuristic is our interest in acts of violence? What gives him the right to write about this day? A pointed, personal text that finds words for the unspeakable and brilliantly masters the balancing act between seriousness and lightness.

Kaleb Erdmann (*1991) was a finalist in the open mike and has worked as an author and editor for various television and entertainment formats, such as "Till Reiners' Happy Hour". His first novel "wir sind pioniere" was awarded the LitCologne debut prize. Erdmann wrote the play "Always Carrey On" about the actor Jim Carrey for the Berliner Ensemble and most recently won the Kleist Prize for New Drama 2026 for his play "Debritz". The author and playwright lives and works in Düsseldorf.

This is a headphone event! The lake stage at the Schwanenspiegel floats on the water while the audience sits on the terraces on the shore. A high-end headphone system connects the audience acoustically with the action on stage.

An event in cooperation with the asphalt Festival 2026.