Schilda oder Die Sache mit der Dummheit – Sommertheater im Hof

Summer Theater in the Courtyard of the Zentralwerk:  

Schilda, or The Matter of Stupidity

loosely based on motifs from *The Book of the Fools*, *The Lale Book*, Robert Musil, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and other excellent ideas from, among others, Nirvana, the wisdom of the crowd, several talk shows, an internet forum, and two or three memes

We must imagine the people of Schilda as happy individuals: in order to devote themselves to their local community without being distracted by international job offers, they resort to a trick. They agree on a collective “pretend-as-if” strategy: Whether a town hall needs to be built, the mayor’s office needs to be filled, or a field needs to be tilled, they eagerly set to work. However, in doing so, they leave all their talents and knowledge out of the equation. In this way, they successfully ruin their good reputation and become famous. By always approaching a problem in such a way that the attempt to solve it is replaced by a new problem, they also never have to carry old problems around with them.

Third-year acting students at hmt Rostock use 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 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

Tickets

15 € | 10 € reduced (applies to people with severe disabilities, high school students, apprentices, college students, seniors, and Dresden-Pass holders)

Tickets are available for advance purchase online at the following link: https://zentralwerk.sumupstore.com/produkt/sommertheater-schilda-oder-die-sache-mit-der-dummheit-01-08-2026

Note

The event will take place outdoors. If the weather does not cooperate, it will unfortunately have to be canceled.