Event

Solo by Ferdinand von Schirach
Ferdinand von Schirach has sold over ten million books worldwide. His most recent book was "Rain". A nameless man comes into a bar soaked in rain, orders a drink and launches into a monologue: "Do you like rain?"

This man is moving, so elegant and fragile he staggers across the stage, his left hand in his trouser pocket. He is reserved, this writer with writer's block, who is appointed as a lay judge to help pass judgment. The case is as follows: A young married couple are arguing. The issue: jealousy. Things escalate. In the end, he stabs her in the neck with a knife and she bleeds to death in the street. The man is arrested, confesses, goes to prison, is charged and now, six months after the crime, his case is being heard. So he, the writer and lay judge, is to pass judgment on this crime and this man.
The case makes the writer think about love and death, guilt and dignity, about the magic of literature and about the fact that it is actually impossible to pass neutral judgment on a person.

"Rain. A Declaration of Love" was published in August 2023 and was number one on the Spiegel bestseller list just two weeks after publication, even though the text is only around 50 pages long. Topping the most important bestseller list with a theatrical monologue? That's never happened before. People simply love Ferdinand von Schirach. His books have been made into many films and translated into 40 languages. The Daily Telegraph in London wrote that von Schirach is "one of the most distinctive voices in European literature".

Frank Ehrhardt plays for you: Rain. A declaration of love

Theatrical monologue by Ferdinand von Schirach