Das Schiff Esperanza

“The Ship Esperanza” – Hope, Longing, and a Fate That Leaves No One Unmoved

Captain Grove and his son Axel haven’t seen each other in 13 years when they are reunited on the “Esperanza.” Both hope for a future together, but the past has left its mark. On the steamship, which is illegally transporting would-be emigrants to America, helmsman Bengtsen schemes against Axel.

The stage adaptation of Fred von Hoerschelmann’s radio play “The Ship Esperanza” premieres on October 9 at the Carls in Eckernförde and will subsequently be performed in Kiel, Itzehoe, and at Hof Brache.

First broadcast in 1953, the radio play is considered the most successful German radio play of all time. The refugee issue is not a side plot here, but the very core of the work. Director Ute Timmermann leaves the plot virtually unchanged, set in the 1950s. Timeless themes such as war, human trafficking, the devaluation of victims, and false justifications nevertheless draw direct parallels to today’s refugee crises. “Esperanza” means hope—and this hope connects Axel, the emigrants, the crew, and the audience.