HMT Rostock: Schilda oder die Sache mit der Dummheit

Third-year acting students at the Rostock University of Music and Theater are using the medieval *Lalebuch* and the collection of farces based on it, *Die Schildbürger*, as the starting point for a summer theater production that falls somewhere between an experimental setup and a spectacle: Instead of artificial intelligence, they’re interested in artificial stupidity. Rather than letting“enshittification”put them in a bad mood, they’ve collectively committed themselves to a cheerful “Schildbürger-style” improvement. With their own logic and a penchant for disaster, they explore what happens when a community decides to play dumb—and follows through on it.

A conspiracy theory from smoky times? Slapstick at its finest? A “Schilda-first” parable from the New Right? A loving satire on empathy theater? Medieval brainrot core? At least on one point everyone agrees: It’s always the others who are stupid.

Spoiler: It probably won’t result in a windowless town hall, but at least one theater without a roof.

Cast: Luis Backhaus, Jana Dams, Rahel Hawemann, Nikita Heimann, Julius Kutzner, Justus Lüken, Hannah Payr, Luisa Camille Tritzschler

Direction and Set Design: Till Doğan Ertener
Dramaturgy: Jutta Wangemann