In an exchange of letters in 1915, Vladimir Illich Ulianov, better known as Lenin, and his lover Inessa Armand argued fiercely about the relation between love and society and how both could find their perfection in Communism. “I would suggest dropping the demand for free love completely”, married Lenin writes to the pioneer of love and, not without some hypocrisy, proposes a “proletarian marriage” between “two” people with “love”. Under this guideline, Socialist love live would be as productive as it would be decent. Performance in the workplace here, well-regulated family life stabilising the productive force there. As is known, GDR reality looked different, which is what the author Kurt Bartsch dedicated himself to when he wrote his ComedySongplay “Der Bauch”. On a building suite, kitchen maid Anna gets pregnant. Due to her numerous intimate relationships almost every builder could be the father – even the foreman or the site’s party officer. Men, whose “proletarian marriage” at home would be put at risk if the affair was to become public; the whole Socialist system might even begin to falter. By smoothly blackmailing the men trying to get out of their fatherly responsibilities however, Anna manages to secure advantages for herself in times of shortages. This affectionate tale of deceit and lust and how they connect with the economy, is brought to the stage by Andreas Merz in the Foyer of the Prater.
With: Andreas Frakowiak, Inka Löwendorf, Florian Lukas and Kurt Naumann Skubowius
Director: Andreas Merz
Stage and Costumes Supplier: Samuel Hof
Music: Felix Raffel
