Bergkirchen - Theater director Herbert Müller and Ansgar Wilk welcomed the audience “to the literary evening”. More precisely about a reading about an encounter between Voltaire and Rousseau.
In the reading “A dispute about reason”, the two famous writers and philosophers Voltaire (1694-1778), whose real name was François-Marie Arouet, and Jean-Jaques Rousseau (1712-1778) in an exchange of letters to basic and still take current questions. The correspondence actually took place. For "A dispute about reason" this was prepared literarily. Was it a coincidence or does not everything have a cause? And will everything really be all right again? The reason for the dispute was the massive earthquake in Lisbon, which in 1755 almost completely destroyed the important commercial and economic center and claimed over 10,000 lives.
Rousseau had tried to meet for years. He has grown from a former admirer of Voltaire to one of his greatest adversaries. His image of man is characterized by social criticism and an aversion to his contemporaries, who have alienated themselves from the natural way of life. "Irony and sarcasm are their means," he accuses Voltaire.
Opinions clash. Voltaire, one of the most widely read and most influential Enlightenment authors, is arrogant: "You consider yourself too important". In the dispute, the differences also come to light in the origins: Voltaire came from a wealthy family and was successful in his pursuit of prosperity and reputation. For him, with the catastrophe in Lisbon, his previous worldview collapsed: “Lisbon is destroyed, and people dance in Paris ”. He goes back and forth, questions about God and the universe and accuses “the Christian murderers with Bible and weapon in their pockets”. It turns against the philosophers who reconcile Leibnitz's principle “Everything will be fine” with the catastrophe.
Rousseau, “the nature man”, is poor and had to give his six children to an orphanage. With a sharp undertone he attacks Voltaire's way of life and defends his thesis: "One day everything will be fine, that is our hope, reason shapes people".
Voltaire, who dominates the heated argument, has the final say. “I hate you, never visit me again.” And with that, Müller and Will leave the stage after a moving performance on this mild summer evening in front of a magical backdrop in the Ulrike Beckers set. They leave their attentive listeners thoughtful.
The summer theater 2020 will be extended
The summer theater at the Bergkirchen Hoftheater on the open-air stage in Lauterbach will be extended until August 22nd due to its great success. Tickets are only available for “The Seven Towers” on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 18 and 19, at 7 pm (phone: 0 81 31/32 64 00).
Ingrid Koch
