Annette: An Epic Heroine

by Anne Weber
In a stage version by Dušan David Pařízek

Schauspielhaus
In German with English surtitles
Premiere
Sa – 05. Nov 22
Who is Annette? Anne Weber has made her the protagonist of her new novel, for which she received the German Book Prize in 2020. She tells the story of French resistance fighter Anne Beaumanoir, known as Annette. Born in Brittany in 1923, she is the only child of dedicated communists. When the Germans occupy France in 1940, she joins the Resistance at just 19 years old. Her rebellion against all forms of injustice drives her to self-organize a number of rescue missions, like that of two teenagers from a Jewish family. After the war, she becomes a doctor. She marries, has children and leads a middle-class life until the Algerian war breaks out. She becomes involved again, this time on the side of the Algerian independence movement Front de Libération Nationale. She fights not only for Algerian independence, but also for a socialist society. In 1959, she is arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison. In an adventurous way she manages to escape ...

Anne Weber chooses the form of the heroine epic for her literary biography of Anne Beaumanoir. The author skillfully uses the wide-angle perspective of the epic to keep the narrative at a distance; at the same time, she chooses close-ups of her heroine. Moreover, she also succeeds in lending a whimsical lightness to all that is bad. The novel shows what it means to fight for greater justice, a better world, and what price one must pay for it. In an alternation of everyday and war scenes, Anne Weber describes the courage and confidence, but also the doubts and fears of this woman - and last but not least, she tells an important piece of contemporary history.
Staging and Stage Design
Costume Design
Lighting Design