Das beispielhafte Leben des Samuel W.

An important decision of great implications is due to be made in Bonn in September, when the local government elections take pace. Lukas Rietzschel’s theatre text is set in the run-up to municipal elections in a medium-sized town. There are two candidates with good chances – the current mayor and Samuel W. Before a duel between the candidates, an election meeting is attended by different sorts of people – politicians, party colleagues, political opponents, voters and representatives of the press. Tensions run high and there are plenty of unanswered questions. How is it that one person becomes radicalised while the other seeks consensus and reconciliation? This is Lukas Rietzschel’s main theme. His work is subtitled “theatre piece made from interview sequences” and consists of conversations the author had with one hundred people, as he writes in his preface to the piece. He himself describes the process of creating the text as follows:

»It’s a play that the people I spoke to had a key part in creating. It’s not about my attitude, not about the audience saying: Yes, that’s what Lukas Rietzschel thinks; that politician is shit. The text contains nothing defamatory, but a lot of truth. And there’s always ambivalence. Everyone is talking about a man, but also about themselves and their time; and there are always others who see things differently [...]. Above all, however, it is art and not an autobiography. It is not about a party. It’s a biography as recounted by people. And it doesn’t all have to be correct because, as we all know, our memories are patchy ...«

Rietzschel sketches the life of a politician who was born in the GDR, in an area with people who are thinking about whether they have to leave the place where they were born because it’s no longer worth living in. And then there is this Samuel W., who does not appear and yet is always present, who becomes a politician and joins an obviously radical party, even though – or perhaps because – he grew up here?

»Who is Samuel W.? A thought? An idea? Does Samuel W. stand for a place? Or for a time? Is he us?« Lukas Rietzschel’s play poses many questions and can be read as a parable of our times.

Lukas Rietzschel, born in Räckelwitz in 1994, lives and works in Görlitz, Saxony. He studied political science, German studies and cultural management. His debut novel Mit der Faust in die Welt schlagen was published in 2018. The weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT has written that »Lukas Rietzschel is one of the most important writers in the East«.
He has won many awards for his work, most recently the Text und Sprache literary award and the State of Saxony’s Lessing Prize for literature. DAS BEISPIELHAFTE LEBEN DES SAMUEL W. has been performed at renowned festivals such as the Autor:innentheatertage in Berlin and has been nominated as one of the best plays of 2025 by the 50th Mühlheim Theatre Days for Contemporary Drama.