Before Us, the Promised Land

2011 marked the tenth anniversary of the death of the writer, director and painter Einar Schleef. The Einar Schleef working group initiated a five-day commemorative festival in Schleef’s birthplace and hometown of Sangerhausen in honour of this important artist. Although there are but a few cultural organizations in Sangerhausen, the initiators have accomplished something quite extraordinary – organizing a theatre festival in a town without a standing theatre. The director Ernst M. Binder produced the last play Schleef ever wrote, Totentrompeten IV [Death Trumpet IV] in Sangerhausen. Based on the stage adaptation of Einar Schleef’s text Die Abschlussfeier [The Graduation Party], directed by Armin Petras, the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin worked with school children from Sangerhausen to produce a special Sangerhausen version of the play. In addition to the theatre and performance projects, the festival featured public readings, discussions, a sound installation and several exhibitions. These exhibitions have been developed in cooperation with the Schleef Archive at the Academy of the Arts in Berlin and the Moritzburg Foundation in Halle which, as executor of Schleef’s graphic works, has agreed to provide numerous pieces for public display.

Artistic director: Einar Schleef working group; Participants: Ernst Marianne Binder, Armin Petras, Gruppe Dramazone, Ursula Werner, Wolfgang Behrens, Christiane Voigt, Michael Freitag, Marko Kloß, Gabriele Gerecke.