On Saturday, 18 October 2025, at 8 pm, the Idar-Oberstein Municipal Theatre will launch its 2025/26 subscription program with the play "Rausch der Freiheit". 500 years after the Peasants' War, the Chawwerusch Theater tells a story of awakening, anger and hope. At the center is the desire for justice, "Fryheit" is written on the insurgents' banners. A thought, a flying spark is in the world. The play, written by Jean-Michel Räber, follows this spark, which has never been extinguished to this day.
A countess demands snail shells from her farmers instead of harvest work. But this time there is resistance. The snail's dead protest becomes a living outcry from the oppressed. A centuries-old system of injustice is questioned for the first time and ultimately fought against - with arguments and demands, but also with pitchforks, swords and firearms during looting and on the battlefields. The fast-paced production takes the audience on emotional highs and lows and leaves room for irony and humor. Singing and dancing, accompanied by the sounds of live percussion and guitar, underline not only the tragedy but also the great will to live of this time.
The play follows, among others, the farmer Jakob, who is caught up in the spark of the uprising. A movement forms in Nußdorf to fight for their rights - with pitchforks, but also with clever arguments. Because fellow campaigner Else shouts: "Law instead of blood!". What resonance does this early modern revolt have in our present day? On another time level, set in the here and now, two construction workers appear in the play who want to demolish the memorial to the Peasants' War. This drives the people of that time from their graves. With the knowledge of five centuries and under the influence of historical events such as the French Revolution, they relive their history. The audience learns what surprising conclusions Else and Jakob draw for the present.
The rest of the program
- Saturday, November 22, 2025, 8 pm: "The first last day", Thespiskarren Tournee Theater
- Friday, December 5, 2025, 8 p.m.: "Christmas pop therapy", Mnozil Brass
- Saturday, January 17, 2026, 8 pm: "The Tempest", New Globe Theater
- Saturday, February 21, 2026, 8 pm: "Alice - Play for your life", Hamburger Kammerspiele
- Saturday, March 14, 2026, 8 p.m.: "Out of the Shadows", Rheinische Philharmonie State Orchestra
- More information on the theater program and the individual performances can be found at www.idar-oberstein.de/kultur. Tickets are available at www.ticket-regional.de and at the associated advance booking offices. The city of Idar-Oberstein would like to thank Kreissparkasse Birkenfeld for supporting the theater program as the main sponsor.